Alpha Logs: Volume Two: Knight to Remember
by Vindicator Vagabond
Summary: Alpha is alive and well, and he remembers his love for Tali. It seems like they can pick up where they left off. But, of course, nothing can be so easy for our star-bound lovers. A conflict is unveiled between the Shadow Broker and the VEINS. Answering the call, the duo must go to war. Alpha remembers his love, but what has his injury made him forget? M for language and violence.
1. Prologue

_{The Citadel}_

_{Six Months after The Battle for the Citadel}_

Sitting alone in a small apartment located in The Wards, she sighed annoyedly. There was little to do at the moment but sit around and count the seconds, and she hated it with every cell of her being.

Tali'Zorah eyed the bottle of Turian whiskey that sat atop a shelf across the room. She had bought that drink after Saren's defeat, hoping to celebrate with Alpha Black after he awoke from his medically-induced coma. But when the call had come from the faction known as the VEINS came, telling her that he had made a full recovery, she had been crushed to hear that he had immediately been returned to duty as The Founder's top field agent. Six months, and she hadn't even exchanged a single word with the man she loved.

Shortly after that, she herself enlisted in the VEINS forces, becoming the first and only Vindicator to be stationed on the Citadel. Vagabonds were plentiful here, and there was never a shortage of jobs that C-sec couldn't handle. It wasn't an easy life, but it rarely lacked excitement, minus the time she spent in her apartment.

In the chair next to her, the familiar hologram-like projection of Omega appeared, Alpha's alter-ego contained in a chip that she kept in her omni-tool. Omega was the result of Alpha's pathological inhibitor creating an entirely separate personality to process the emotions that it blocked. Now, he could show himself only to Tali, and only she could hear him. She didn't mind, however, since he was a pleasant companion and reminder that Alpha was still out there. "Bored?" he asked.

"You have no idea," Tali groaned, "We don't get jobs anymore."

Omega shrugged, never upset by anything (anger had not been filtered out by the inhibitor), "The Wraiths handle them before we can get them. I tell you, that gang is good at what they do."

"Enough waiting," she muttered to herself, standing up, "I need to go stretch my legs." She grabbed her trusty Katana shotgun and fitted her tactical harness to her torso, holstering the old .357 revolver that Alpha had given her. She then headed out the door, ready to take on the Citadel.

Outside, just across the street, she saw a young Quarian boy being threatened by a human man. "You little shit!" the man shouted, "I'll shatter that ugly mask of yours for what you did to my daughter!"

"Please!" the Quarian begged, "I didn't do anything! She just asked me to take a look at her omni-tool, and-"

"Shut up!" came the loud response, "Just shut up and die, you stupid piece of- AAUGH!" He broke into a scream of pain and shock as Tali calmly walked up to him from behind and hit him in the back of the head with her pistol. Even though she was much shorter than him, she grabbed him by the head and brought his face down on her knee, a move that she had learned in her Vindicator training.

"Thank you!" The boy gasped, "But will he be okay? I-I'm grateful, but I didn't want him dead!"

Tali put a hand on his shoulder, "He'll be fine. I 'shattered that ugly face of his', but he'll live," she used the man's own words, feeling that there was something poetic there, "Now, what was that about?"

The Quarian caught his breath, "I… His daughter and I have been friends for a while now. Earlier today, she told me that there was something wrong with her omni-tool, and I'm pretty good with them; I built my own out of parts I salvaged from broken ones, see?" He held up his arm to show her.

"Impressive," She appraised it, "You should be proud of that."

He puffed out his chest slightly at her approval, "Thank you, ma'am!" He then shrunk again, resuming, "But as I was saying, she asked me to fix hers, and naturally I agreed. But when I took her arm to examine it, she pulled me in close and started talking about how she wished I didn't have to wear a suit, get this, so that she could kiss me!"

Tali blushed slightly, having kissed a human herself. She inhaled, pushing those memories out of her mind, "So, what happened?"

He rubbed his shoulder sheepishly, "I… well, I got caught up in the moment and promised that I'd find a way. Then, uh," he pointed to the unconscious man, "_He_ walked in and went ballistic. Chased me all the way here."

Tali glared at the man's form, "Well, if he thinks that you two can't be together, then that's his problem."

"And what about you?" The boy asked hopefully, "Do you think that she and I can be… compatible?"

"Yes," Tali said without hesitation, "Absolutely. If the two of you love each other, then you should let it shine."

"I want to run away with her," he admitted, "Since her father would never let it happen, but we don't have the money."

Tali looked him in the eye, "Love conquers all. Remember that. If you two want to be together, then you will find a way. Believe me, I know." The two said their goodbyes, and Tali took off.

The Wards were full of sin and filth, Tali had quickly discovered when she had first set up shop here. She sprinted across the rooftops, her powerful Quarian legs evolutionarily great for jumping across the gaps between buildings. She wore a hooded cloak to conceal her identity, and it billowed behind her like a cape as she ran. She loved that feeling; it made her feel like one of the heroes from the films she had watched in her childhood.

She came to a stop at the edge of a building overlooking the other arms of the Citadel. Beside her, Omega appeared. For a moment, she just stood, catching her breath, looking out at the massive cityscape. It was beautiful, lit up like a planetary city at night. This was her favorite spot. "He would like this," Omega ruminated aloud.

"Yes," Tali agreed. She looked down at her omni-tool as it gave her an alert: Vagabonds reported someone being mugged nearby. It was no major-league crime, she mused to herself as she dashed off to the designated location, but it was enough to feel like she was making a difference. It felt good.

"I know you can't see me, Alpha," Tali whispered, "But I hope you're proud of me."

"He is," said the invisible Omega, "I know he is."


	2. Night Rider

Walking through the streets, blending in with the crowds, Tali'Zorah tried to look around inconspicuously for signs of the gang known as the "Wraiths." She was still getting used to being able to look around without moving her head; the VEINS had, at her approval, surgically implanted augments in her brain's visual cortex that allowed her to focus anywhere in her vision, not just the center. It was very similar to being able to move her eyes, but they didn't actually move.

She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she turned to face a young Turian wearing the symbol of the Wraiths; the very gang she had been looking for. He looked at her once, then spoke into his commlink, "I found her," he then turned back to her, "We've been looking for you for some time now, Night Bitch. It's time that you learned to stay off our turf!"

Tali reacted instantly, bringing her knee into his crotch for a crushing blow. "It's Night Witch!" was all she could think to say. She bolted off into the crowd, hoping to lose her assailants. For a time, this appeared to work, and she managed to escape back into the Wards without complications. As she reached a balcony, she heard a sound. Tali whipped around to see a dozen Wraiths aiming weapons at her. "Dammit," she muttered, turning to look out over the balcony for possible exits.

While she didn't see an exit, her eye was drawn to the glint of a sniper's scope. She could make out the shape of a stocky human crouched atop a building. He shifted his head so that she could see his face. He wore a familiar-looking helmet that concealed his visage, but she was more interested in the fact that he gave her a salute, then returned to his scope. Was he a friend or foe? Tali couldn't tell, but she would have to trust that he was here to help; she was dead otherwise.

She turned back to the Wraiths to see that a dozen more had arrived. Tali inhaled, then signaled behind her back a countdown: _three, two, one!_ She drew her shotgun and started firing, dropping to one knee as she did. At the same time, a rapid stream of shots came from overhead, piercing the skulls of each target. Tali kept firing until her weapon was empty, at which point she waved to her new ally that she needed help.

Unexpectedly, he slung his rifle over his shoulder and sprinted to the edge of the roof, jumping off. The firing ceased for a full second as everyone stood agape; from the sniper's back and boots appeared thrusters that sent him flying directly into the middle of the skirmish.

He sprung into action immediately, drawing twin pistols that Tali did not recognize and shooting multiple Wraiths. One tried to charge him, and he whirled into a kick, his black boot smashed into his face. The sniper in black armor then holstered his guns in favor of…

"A baseball bat?" One of the Wraiths asked in disbelief. The man in black armor just chuckled, leaping forward on his thrusters to deliver a lethal blow to the head. He quickly dispatched the remaining Wraiths, while Tali drew her Revolver and shot as many as she could.

When all of the Wraiths were dead or otherwise dealt with, the sniper turned to her and began to approach. Before he could take more than a few steps, though, several C-sec shuttles flew overhead, dropping officers between the two fighters.

They spotted Tali first, and trained their weapons on her. She stood slowly, stowing her weapon and looking to her new friend. Slowly, she walked backwards towards the railing. Subtly, she signaled what she was planning, hoping he would understand. Not pausing to check, she turned and broke into a run, feeling shots ricochet off of her shields as the C-sec officers opened fire. Just before she met the railing, she dove off.

Behind her, the sniper realized at the last second what was happening. He shouldered his way past the C-sec platoon and sprinted to the edge, leaping off after Tali. As she fell, Tali turned herself over to look up. Almost immediately, her rescuer saved her again, grabbing her by the waist and firing his thrusters, actually reversing their fall and flying upwards.

The officers sat in stunned silence as the man in black armor flew back up overhead with the infamous Night Witch in his arms. He placed her on the rooftop, and she dashed away. He laughed wordlessly, saluting them as he soared off.

…

Tali wandered her way to her favorite spot, only to find a familiar figure already there. The sniper sat with his legs over the side of the rooftop, hands in his lap, gazing silently out over the Citadel. His armor was not very heavy-duty, and she couldn't quite locate the thrusters. His helmet sat beside him. After no more than a moment's hesitation, she walked up beside him. "Mind if I sit down?" she asked as casually as she could manage.

He turned to look up at her silently, and for a time they just remained like that, staring. Him, because he was waiting for her to react, Her, because she couldn't believe her eyes. "No…" Tali managed, "They said you were on a classified mission!"

He looked so different: his hair had grown a bit, and he had facial hair. He had obviously been exercising, since he looked noticeably more muscular. He was a bit taller, too. His eyes were an ice blue. Those eyes; his face was blank, almost soft compared to the hard young man she knew, but those eyes, despite their new color, were just as intense. It still felt as though his eyes pierced her, reading her like a book.

"I was," he said calmly, "And I finished it. I always finish my missions. Now, though, they're finally letting me do some Vindicator work. Night Rider, they call me." His voice was different, too. No longer did he speak in a monotone, or have a constant official edge to his speech. Now, he used contractions, and his voice itself was smooth, organic. To her ears, it was like drinking honey to remedy a cough. He was different to be sure, but there was no denying it: the man before her was Alpha Black.

He gestured for her to sit, and she did. "I hear they call you the Night Witch," he went on, smiling, an action that shocked Tali even further, "Did you get that from me, and those stories I told you about old human wars? The one about the all-female Russian elite bombers from our second World War?"

Tali nodded, "I thought that it was somewhat fitting… I'm a girl, and I usually operate at night around here, and I'm an elite fighter-"

Alpha held up a hand to stop her, "No, you're not."

"Wh-what!?" Tali was taken aback, "What do you mean!?"

Alpha turned, looking intently into her eyes, frowning "You're not a girl. You were a girl over six months ago, when I first met you. The Tali in front of me is a genuine _woman_, and I will not tolerate anyone saying otherwise." For a moment, they were silent, then he smiled warmly, "Damn, I missed you Tali."

She pulled herself close to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "I missed you too, Alpha." Part of her knew that she should have been angry with him, but seeing as he had introduced himself by saving her life on the Citadel for the second time, she decided to just be glad. She had her Alpha back, and she was happy. Besides, he had _smiled_ at her.

Still, she had to ask, "How long have you been here?"

Alpha chuckled softly, "Just got here a couple of weeks ago, and I've been searching for you from the moment that I got my boots on the ground. I've gotten a total of twenty hours of sleep, and I was considering ordering the Vagabonds to make searching for you a priority."

"So how did you find me?"

"You're not exactly stealthy when you shout 'It's Night Witch' at the top of your lungs. The Vagabond network lit up like a christmas tree then. I hacked into the cameras, found you, and saw the Wraiths setting up. I knew then that you were walking into a trap, and set up shop with my rifle."

"So, you planned all of that?"

Alpha laughed, "The Wraiths? Nah, those assholes just complicated things. I had wanted to make my reveal a more… eh, ceremonious occasion? Didn't want to just drop it on you like that, but that's just how it went. After that, I just had to plan," he rubbed his back, "Didn't count on you jumping over the railing like that, though. My thrusters are built for one person. You're not very heavy, so they could compensate, but damn, that's gonna hurt in the morning!"

Tali sighed, "Well, I suppose it worked out in the end, didn't it? I think that seeing you without knowing it was you actually helped make everything easier to process. Besides, part of me recognized your moves. And besides, now you've met me by saving me on the Citadel _twice_."

"Heh," Alpha responded, "I hope it doesn't become a thing."

"I wouldn't exactly complain," Tali giggled.

Alpha groaned, "That's 'cause you're the one being saved. _Doing_ the saving is a lot harder."

"Says the man who can fly." Tali quipped, then changed the subject, "So, I'm Night Witch, but you're Night Rider?"

Alpha chuckled, "Yup, that's me. During my first few days of new life, I went to Illium. I had happened upon a young Quarian girl, no older than seventeen, being attacked by Eclipse jackasses. So, naturally, I shot 'em full of holes and tracked down the ones that got away. Turns out, they're actually regrouping. Three skycars, all full of mercs. So, I use my new thrusters to jump on top of the first one, shoot the mercs, repeat that for the second, and for the third," he laughed again, "I hacked the car and took away control from the driver. I then 'rode' the thing right into a wall, jumping off right before impact. Thing is, I did this at night. It was all over the news. And so, Night Rider was born." Tali nodded, and they sat in silence for a long while after that.

Alpha broke the silence as he looked out at the cityscape, "This is my favorite place. From here, you can see everything."

Tali looked up at him, and Alpha couldn't help but think of a kitten. "Really?" She asked.

Alpha's glowing eyes dilated as he looked back at her, "Oh, sure. I used to come up here all the time before the fight against Saren. Even though, at the time, it didn't give me any emotional stimulus, it gave me a nice, quiet place to think. Right now? The only word that I can think of is beautiful."

"It is, isn't it? All the lights, the colors." Tali agreed.

"Absolutely."

Tali yawned, smiling up at him even though he couldn't see it. She had never been happier in her life. Alpha picked her up in his arms, and carried her as he trudged across the rooftops.

He carried her all the way back to her apartment, where he laid her down on the bed and went to take a shower. When he returned, he had re-donned the majority of his armor, leaving the arm plates removed, wearing just the skin-suit there. He sat down silently in one of the chairs, not knowing that she was still wide awake.

After he had fallen asleep, Tali crept out of bed and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the shelf, placing it in a drawer. She wanted it to be a surprise, and to drink it together as soon as possible, but she understood how tired Alpha must have been; two weeks on only twenty hours of sleep would slay anyone else. She then silently climbed back into bed and quickly joined Alpha sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Howdy everyone! I'm back at it again with Volume Two! Chapters should be (hopefully) a bit longer after this, since I'm aiming for a more in-depth story. Things are starting off fast, but that's how life is; it doesn't wait for you, it smacks you in the face like a brick wall and lets you decide how to cope.**

**What do you think of Tali? I like the idea of her following Alpha to become more independent. Next chapter to follow soon, hopefully! Leave a review to tell me what you think of the story so far, and as always, have fun!**

**-VV**


	3. What We Forgot

**A/N: What's this? An author's note at the beginning of the chapter? This is unprecedented! An outrage!**

**Wait! Before I have an angry mob wielding pitchforks and torches busting down my door, hear me out! I just want to say that if you find this first part of the chapter rather confusing, don't worry; it's meant to be a bit obscure, but should make more sense as more chapters are released.**

_{July 2177}_

_{New Eden}_

_Staggering into the sunlight, a young boy no older than sixteen steps out of a ramshackle hut and into the junkyard. He squints at the sun for a moment, then holds out a hand to feel the wind and humidity. He brings a microphone to his mouth._

"Good morning New Eden," I say into the microphone, broadcasting my voice, "Today we have a temperature of twenty-six-point-four degrees centigrade, rounded to the nearest tenth. The wind blows East at a speed of eleven-point-two kilometers an hour. Humidity has gone down since yesterday. There are scattered clouds to the West, estimated to arrive by 13:00. Until then there will be uninterrupted sunlight."

I put the mic back in my shed, and hop down the hill of salvage. At the bottom, in a small bulge in the path through the scrapyard, is my makeshift workshop. Almost all of my tools are improvised variants made of the scrap around me, from vices to drills to the simple wrench, I built everything except for my blowtorch and soldering iron. Today, now that I have completed my broadcast, shall be spent working on my latest creation.

After one hour, forty-three minutes, and six seconds, I hear familiar footsteps. I check the time: 10:00 exactly. I turn to see Atlas, my adopted father, walking towards me from the Southern path. He is wearing a simple shirt and cargo pants with his usual black boots. "On time," I say offhandedly, turning back to my project, "As always."

Atlas nods, "I hate being late." He moves alongside me, peering over my shoulder, "Whatcha workin' on?"

I hold up the device for ease of examination. It looks like a mess of wires and haphazard metal plates, "I am attempting to construct a Series-II multicore ion engine," I set it down, clamping it in place and connecting it to a large battery, "But I am encountering difficulty in getting it to function properly." I flip the switch to power the device, and the thruster _whoosh_es to life, a small jet of ionic blue flame appearing from the mouth.

"Looks like it works just fine to me," Atlas asserts, "Or is this a new development?"

I shake my head negatively, "This is exactly the problem that I have encountered: It produces a force of six-point-four thousand Newtons. A Series-II of this design should produce exactly ten thousand."

Atlas raises an eyebrow at me, "I supervised the development of the Series-II; they only produced six thousand at this size. Seems like you made a more effective model."

"This is true," I admit, "But for the fact that I have made modifications that should increase the efficiency by a far greater margin," I turn it off, picking it back up, "I have spent two days on this problem alone, and the only progress that I have made is the two-point-six thousand Newton increase from my original model."

"Well then," Atlas smiles. Is it a mischievous smile, or a thoughtful one? I can never tell. "Let's open 'er up and see if your old man can find the problem." A thoughtful smile, I conclude internally. I agree, and quickly open the casing. Atlas spends no more than five minutes poking around inside the model before clicking his tongue, "Well, here's the issue: your fusion chamber is faulty. It's only gonna produce about sixty-percent of what it should."

I nod, pointing to another component, "Yes, which is why I added a plasma coil as a catalyst."

Atlas looks at me, "Where in Einstein's identical socks did you find a working plasma coil?" He likes to use such phrases as creative exclamations.

"I salvaged it from a broken M-X1," I explain, "I was thinking of repairing that as my next project; all that appears to be wrong is the magnetic induction mechanism, and a faulty element-zero core."

Atlas chuckles, "Damn; those railguns tend to last longer than that. I was wondering what Ace did with his. Should've known he'd give it to you," He looks back at my model, "But I digress. This is incredible, buddy! Good thinking with the plasma coil. I think that if we get you a good fusion chamber, this thing's output might end up higher than ten thousand!"

I get a small rush of adrenaline at this notion. I look up at my father, "That would open up many new possibilities for future projects."

Atlas grins, "Before I go get you one, there's actually another reason that I wanted to talk to you about," I cock my head at him, and he hands me a small datapad, "My psychologists want me to get you to start a regular record of your thoughts, and I agree. I want you to make at least one log every week, recording anything you think is relevant."

I take the tablet, "Are there any rules for what classifies as 'relevant' for the logs?"

His smile widens, "Nope. Just make sure to actually write something down, yeah?" He then gives me a quick salute, and walks back down the path. I watch him for a moment, then look down at the device in my hands. I would much rather take it apart for scrap, but if Atlas wants me to use it, then that is what I must do.

I sit down on my workbench and think for a moment about what I should put down. I decide on a topic, and start typing.

_Alpha Log #1: Me_

_Atlas, my new father, has suggested that I begin to record my thoughts here. A good place to start, then, would be my recent thoughts. For the better part of the previous week, I sat watching the trainees and pondered: who am I?_

_When asked this same question by anyone else, I know the answer: Alpha Black. But who am I other than a name? I know that my built purpose is to fight, to kill, but why? For years, I killed whoever Whitemask told me to without question, and I thought that this was how things were meant to be. Atlas has convinced me otherwise._

_He has taught me that in order to fight, we must have a purpose, a driving force. The question of my reason for battle frustrates me, for I have no adequate answer. I fight because my programming tells me to. It is my sole purpose. Already, I have bested some of the greatest here in the VEINS. Yet when asked why I train so hard, why I dedicate myself to combat, I can give no definite answer. And yet, battle is all that I am, all that I will ever be._

_I have found, though, that there is one other thing that I excel at: tinkering. Weeks before Atlas ever found me, I discovered an abandoned junkyard full of components and materials. Now, my father has officially proclaimed it to be "my" scrapyard. I have spent the majority of the past year here, creating weapons and other devices from the seemingly endless reservoir of supplies around me. Atlas has suggested that we will be receiving new recruits soon known as "Quarians." I do not know who they are, but Atlas asked if I was willing to share my scrapyard with them, so they must enjoy engineering jobs like I do. Naturally, I am more than willing to work with other engineers._

"Wake up, sleepyhead," came a soft voice. Alpha opened his eyes groggily, smiling.

"Up so early, Tali?" he yawned.

"Oh, that bitch already left."

Alpha was suddenly very awake. His eyes shot open, blinking bright red in contrast to the normal lightning blue as a warning. His new eyes had been modified to change color for such things. "Get the _FUCK_ out of here, Amala!" He shouted at the dead Asari, who sat on the otherwise empty bed, "I swear to god, if you even _touched_ her, I will blow your brains out!"

Amala shrugged, grinning evilly, "I can't touch her, remember? Only you can see me." She batted her eyelids mockingly, "I guess you just miss me _so much_ that you can't let go, huh? I'm in your head, Alfy!"

"Then I'll splatter my own brains over the wall," he growled, "And then we'll see who's laughing."

"Kill yourself?" Amala taunted, "And leave behind your beloved suit-rat?"

"I survived it once already, Asari whore!" Alpha snarled back, deliberately using a racial slur against her as petty revenge, "And I'll do it again, if it means you'll leave me alone!"

Amala folded her arms over her bosom, "Well, is that any way to treat the woman you gave your virginity-"

"SHUT UP!" Alpha finally roared, storming out of the room. Amala had been his ex-girlfriend six months ago, but even though Alpha had made it very clear that he was no longer interested, she had convinced herself that she was the one for him. When Atlas had taken Alpha and Tali to Earth to see the _Hammerforged_ under construction, she had been on their ship. When Amala saw Alpha and Tali together, she jumped to the offense, insulting the Quarian and trying to get closer to her ex-boyfriend.

This had failed, since her use of racial slur caused Alpha to strike and threaten her, insisting that he would never go back to her. Later that night, she drugged the two of them and raped the cybernetic human. Alpha had managed to wake up and free his mechanical arm, but Amala was quick enough to dose him again. Luckily, Vindicator Captain Winters had arrived with a loaded assault rifle, and ended the nightmare along with her life.

That had been the end of it until Alpha died. After he was revived, he began seeing hallucinations of the dead Asari, and could do almost nothing about them. Amala either berated him, acted as a figment of any guilt he harbored, or simply worked to annoy him. One way or another, she was bad news for the elite soldier. Tali had made him forget about Amala until now.

Until recently, the most common tactic used by Amala was the insistence that Tali hated him for "abandoning" her. This ended when he found the Quarian woman, and she was in fact very happy to see him. It did not stop Amala from getting on his nerves, however. The only cure that he had found was drinking. Presently, he took a swig from the flask in his pocket, containing the strongest liquor that he could find.

The alcohol calmed him somewhat, primarily by removing Amala from his perception. Unlike almost any other sapient being in the galaxy, Alpha had a liver that could process such toxins at blinding speeds. He could never truly get drunk, and neural augments made it impossible for him to develop addictions. It was a blessing among his many curses.

Alpha stepped out into the street to find Tali waiting for him. "How long have you been waiting?" he asked.

"No," she answered quickly, "Just a few minutes. I needed to make some calls. Tell my more frequent Vagabond contacts that I'm off adventuring with the greatest soldier we've ever had."

Alpha chuckled, forgetting about Amala for the second time, "Well, I guess that's just as well; I have something to show you."

They traveled to the dry docks, where Alpha led them to the bays reserved for political figures. He stopped in front of the sealed entrance to an old, dusty bay, and approached a terminal. "Alpha, what are we doing here?" Tali inquired, confused, "This bay has been unused for as long as I've been here."

"Not unused," Alpha grinned, "Just reserved for someone who never comes to the Citadel. He's arguably the most powerful human in the galaxy," while he spoke, he punched a series of codes into the terminal, "And a very busy man. He has an entire faction to run, after all."

"The Founder?" Tali guessed, as it was obvious whom Alpha spoke of.

He nodded confirmation, "He's kept his old cruiser in here for years. When I came back to life, he decided to revamp it with shiny new parts. And then he gave it to me."

"But I thought that the VEINS had been labelled a terrorist faction?" Tali asked suspiciously.

"Eh," Alpha shrugged, "It's kinda complicated. We were actually close allies with The Council right up until The Alliance marked us like that. The Council had no choice but to go along with it, but since we never actually caused much trouble, and they had no other use for my dad's Council property, they just left it to rust. Naturally he kept that from happening."

The door opened to reveal the ship in question: a huge cruiser the size of some of The Flotilla's larger ships, with massive engines and visible weapons systems, painted a deep matte black. "They only told me when I arrived," Alpha murmured, pleased with the sight before him.

"I've never seen a ship like this before," Tali gasped, rushing to the balcony to get a better look, "What model is it?"

Alpha walked up beside her, "Nope," He said simply.

Tali looked at him, once again befuddled, "What do you mean, 'nope?'"

"This bad boy has no model," Alpha elaborated, "It's one of a kind. It's got the ol' reliable mass effect cannons, sure; those are the turrets that you can see," he pointed to the weapons that Tali had spotted earlier, dotted all over the hull, "But we've got some cool new shit, too, like the plasma lance and photon beam."

"Did you say photon beam?" Tali asked excitedly.

"Remember the-" he grimaced, "Remember the report of the Normandy's destruction?"

Tali's mood visibly sunk, "Yes," she said solemnly, "When Shepard died." That event had rocked the galaxy, at least the portions that weren't smothered in propaganda. Most of all, the survivors among the Normandy's former crew were devastated. They had all moved on in their respective lives, but it still stung to remember.

"Yeah, well," Alpha said firmly, putting on a determined expression, "Though we all want to forget what happened, we had a Vagabond onboard who recorded it in excruciating detail. We don't know what they used," he gestured to his ship, "but the photon beam makes it look like a laser pointer. It's comparable to Sovereign's main weapon, if you remember that."

"How did you make it?" Tali asked. Alpha assumed she was trying to get her mind away from bad memories.

Alpha chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, "Actually, Sovereign was the main reason that we were able to build it! When we blew him up, the VEINS Second Fleet moved in to salvage what we could. It was hard to use the Reaper materials without letting anyone get indoctrinated, but we did it. The photon beam is probably the single most powerful weapon that we have ever conceived, and we've made some big guns, let me tell you."

They moved around the catwalks, getting different angles on the masterpiece before them. "You said something about a 'plasma lance,'" Tali grilled him, "Is that like the photon beam?"

"Nah," Alpha answered happily, "It's actually not very lance-like, that would be the photon beam. The plasma lance is… well, it's not exactly as marvelous as the main cannons or photon beam, but it's effective. To put it simply, we shoot a great big ball of plasma at our enemy at high speed; like launching a miniature sun at them. The ball itself is about the size of a skycar. Not the most effective against shields, but it melts through armor like cheap butter."

"Seems like a good combination for stronger opponents, then," Tali mused, "would be to use your turrets to weaken their shields, melt their armor with the lance, then hit the weak spot with the beam. Am I right?"

Alpha nodded, "You bet. Naturally, both lance and beam are expensive as all Hell to use, and they take some time to cool down after use."

"What did you name it?" Tali asked finally, "The ship, I mean."

Alpha straightened proudly, "I call it the _Midnight_. Fitting, I think, since we're Night Rider and Night Witch. Full title is _VSV Midnight_. VSV stands for Versatile Service Vessel, in case you were wondering. That means that it can do almost anything, and has no permanently assigned purpose."

"That's good," Tali stated, "Because it's your ship, and a ship like this should reflect its Captain."

"_Our_ ship," Alpha corrected her to her visible surprise, "I happen to know that the frigate that I gave you six months ago was taken by the Flotilla, which is messed up, mind you, and that you're without a good ride."

Tali cocked her head at him, "'Messed up?' How so?"

"Well, unless you agreed to let them have it," Alpha sighed, "Then I think that they have no right to take away _your_ ship that _I_ gave to you."

"I _did_ agree to let them take it, Alpha," Tali scolded him as they moved to board the _Midnight_, "I have to think about my people first!"

He smiled as they entered the airlock, "Ah, well, that's one of the things I find do great about you, Tali: always thinking about everyone else." Though he could not see it, Tali blushed slightly, "Besides, I gave it to you, and you could do whatever you wanted with it; giving it to your collective is just fine with me, so long as it was your choice."

The inner door opened, and they stepped through. Alpha led Tali through the winding maze of corridors and multiple levels. The ship was huge, and the numerous crew members each smiled and said "hello" or similar greetings as their Co-Captains walked past. "Alpha?" Tali asked as they walked through level fifteen, "Not that I'm complaining, but I'm noticing a lot of Quarians among the crew here."

Alpha sighed, "That's because we hired from the Citadel population. There are so many Quarians here just looking for a place where they're welcome, or maybe a job, or food," He grew agitated as he continued to speak, "or maybe just a fucking roof over their head and a warm bed to sleep in, where slurs won't be shouted at them and they can feel safe for once in their lives!" Alpha paused, inhaling and calming down, "So, naturally, I rounded up as many of these poor souls as I could find and offered them a position on the _Midnight_. I think that two out of the hundred-thirty-seven that I interviewed turned me down; probably paranoid, poor bastards. And sadly, I can't help those who refuse to be helped."

Tali looked around, "Well, you thought of us, and helped, what, one-hundred-thirty-five Quarians? I would call that a massive success!"

Alpha smirked. Oh, how he enjoyed the ability to smile! For six months, he had been carefully appreciating a full emotional spectrum, and he loved it so! "Well, what can I say? A certain Quarian girl made quite the impression on me six months ago. And that's just on the _Midnight_; there are two subordinate ships with us, and one has an entirely Quarian crew. The other is primarily human and Turian," he waved his hand dismissively, "But we'll get to that later. For now…"

He opened a door to reveal a large cabin the size of an apartment. The main room was somewhat long and narrow, all of it decked with beautiful wooden floors, and contained a central living area with a raised platform on the far end that appeared to serve as an office space. The furniture was simple, yet looked to be very comfortable. A large vidscreen was placed in the ideal location, with the sofa and chairs facing it from across an obsidian coffee table. To top it all off, there were two additional doors halfway down the port and starboard walls. Tali stood in the doorway, speechless.

Alpha leaned in, saying quietly, "The door on the right leads to the bathroom and workout facility, and the one on the left is the master bedroom. It totals to about two hundred square meters, and the whole thing doubles as a strong room in case of attack. It can hold about half of the crew; everyone not trained to fight against a boarding party."

"You father had good taste," Tali breathed, "Keelah, this is luxurious! Are you sure that this isn't a waste of resources for just one person?"

Alpha shrugged, moving into the room, "The crew quarters are just as nice, if not nicer. Plus, I've had each member of the crew shown to this room; not a single person complained about it. They unanimously agree that I'm justified in having a swish cabin if I'm not just sitting in it all day, doing what I do instead and joining my troops in combat and actually getting my hands dirty," he turned to the office space, "I mean, make no mistake: this place is magnificent, but I would lose my mind if I had to sit at that desk all day, every day, never actually seeing any action."

When he turned back, Tali was standing next to the sofa, looking at him as if asking permission to sit. He gave her his answer by dropping onto it himself, and gesturing for her to do the same. Unlike Alpha, Tali sat slowly, and he guessed that she was taking in the feeling of the high-end leather furniture. "So," she asked, growing visibly excited, "I've been dying to ask you: what's it like to be without your pathological inhibitor? How has that change been for you?"

Alpha's face lit up, "Fantastic! I can hardly begin to describe how actual emotions feel!" He stared off into the distance as he recalled, "The satisfaction of a job well done, the rush of helping someone in need, the adrenaline of taking risks!" He paused for a moment, returning to reality. He looked at Tali, "Happiness when I found you again."

Suddenly, as if the universe had decided to aim for the worst possible time, Alpha received an alert on his omni-tool. "Ah," he grunted, "I'm needed on the bridge; pre-flight checks," he stood moving towards the door, "Feel free to look around to your heart's content! And remember that I want to show you Engineering!" He stepped outside, walking briskly to the elevator.

Amala appeared beside him, "Wow," she berated him, "One little call and out you go! What kind of asshole are you, leaving her all alone like that? Some friend you are!"

Alpha drank quickly from his flask, growling, "Shut your face, bitch, before I find a way to pound it out the back of your skull." This was not what he needed right now.

"It's physically impossible," the dead Asari taunted him.

As he stormed out of the elevator, he growled over his shoulder, "I can get creative."

…

Tali sat patiently in the Captain's cabin, enjoying the serenity. The silence was soon broken, however, by the main door opening. Tali looked over excitedly, expecting to see Alpha, but was surprised to see another familiar face. "Atlas?"

The Founder nodded crisply, entering. He sat gently in the chair adjacent to her, looking as if his mother had just died. Tali's spirits fell rapidly, "What is it?"

He looked at her almost guiltily, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Tali…"

"Just tell me!" She demanded anxiously.

The Founder took a deep breath, "It's about Alpha." Tali felt her heart sink into her stomach. "Tali," Atlas said slowly, "I dropped everything to tell you this in person. As you may have noticed, Alpha's… resurrection has come and gone with little complication. Hell, I might say that he's even in better shape now than he was before. However, there is one problem."

"What?"

Atlas paused, "Humans can suffer from a certain condition called Dementia. It's the only way that we can permanently lose long-term memory; it physically deteriorates brain tissue so your memory is shot full of literal holes. The effects worsen with time, and people who suffer from Dementia forget more and more of their lives, and even after hundreds of years we still have no cure-"

"No!" Tali burst out, fighting back tears, "No, this can't be happening! I can't lose him again! I can't watch him disappear!"

"Alpha doesn't actually have Dementia, Tali," he said comfortingly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked her shoulder away, screaming, "Then why are you telling me about it!?"

"Because Alpha's memory is literally _shot_ full of holes. One hole, to be precise, where Saren shot him. We removed the bullet and the wreckage of the pathological inhibitor and reconstructed what we could, but he still suffered irreparable brain damage," he fixed Tali with a piercing stare, "Listen closely: his injury will not cause him any more memory degradation. Almost all of his memories are completely intact, but he has forgotten a small chunk of the time before his death. We tested him carefully, and he only remembers what happened up until you and he were nearly crushed by rubble."

Tali remembered it well. "He had given me his armor," she recalled painfully, "I would have been fine, but he risked his life even more than he already had in order to save me, even though it was pointless."

"Not to him," Atlas said carefully, "Not to his dying mind. To him, the whole thing is just a big haze, but in those moments, his emotional spectrum had been expanded, and his only thought was to protect you. Not because it was his mission, but because he cared. And he cared," He put his mechanical left hand back on her shoulder, "Because you cared. But what happened after you two were dug out never happened for him. I wish there was a better way, but please try not to bring it up with him? He'll only get confused."

"So… how does he see me?" Tali asked nervously, afraid that she already knew the answer.

"From what I can tell, he sees you as his dearest friend," The Founder explained optimistically, "While he may not remember what he did back then, he certainly remembers that the two of you were close, and still feels that way. Don't try to make any advances, though; he made friends with one of the nurses, who then tried to make a pass at him after she heard the news of his amnesia. He turned her away and rejected her as a friend! Though I believe that was because he knew that she was trying to take advantage of his new emotional range; if _you_ want to test the waters of mild flirtation, then by all means try it. He's known you for much longer than that nurse, and I can guarantee that he trusts you far more."

"But what about last night? Or even now?" Tali countered, "He seems to be a bit more romantically oriented than 'just friends,' I think."

Atlas shrugged, "Maybe you're right, maybe he does see you that way. I can't read him as easily as I used to; he's a bit too human now to be able to predict, and he's all the better off for it. The most likely explanation though, from my perspective, is that he doesn't exactly understand boundaries. I've seen this in his behavior since his return to life. You and I spend our childhood learning the dos and don'ts of emotional behavior, but Alpha never got the chance, and not just because he came out of a tube with the body of a ten-year-old."

He laughed ruefully, "These past few months have been hard on me as a father; Alpha's functionally been going through puberty, and at an accelerated rate. He's just now learning how to express what he feels and how other people will interpret his expressions. What you and I might see as romantic, he might see as just close friendship and strong trust. Either way, he certainly isn't about to give you the cold shoulder; I don't think that there was a time that he and I spoke during these past months when he didn't ask to see you."

Tali sighed sadly, "Well, thank you, Atlas. I think that I would much rather know this than find out the hard way. At least I have Alpha back as a friend."

"That's it?" Atlas asked, shocked, "No offense, but I honestly thought that you would be far more affected by this."

Tali shrugged, "This is Alpha we're talking about. He would want me to do what he would do: accept my reality and that I cannot change the present. And right now my future with Alpha looks promising enough. Besides," she giggled, "It might be fun to fall in love with each other all over again."

The door opened, and Alpha stepped through. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "Dad! What are you doing here?"

"I'm just getting Tali up to speed on your… condition," Atlas said calmly, leaning back. Tali couldn't help but note how easily he ignored the elephant in the room. A result of six months of such acting, she reasoned.

"Oh, yeah," Alpha said, interrupting her thoughts, "Doctors said that I might experience some limited memory loss, but of course I wouldn't know what I've forgotten, since I don't remember," He paused, glaring, as if looking at someone that no one else could see, "Though there are some… things that I remember that I wish I had remembered to _forget_," he shrugged, "But we can't change the present, can we?"

"We can only work to shape the future," Tali finished.

"Yes," Alpha smiled warmly, his eyes dilating slightly, "Exactly. Now, let's introduce you to the guys in engnieering, they're _dying_ to meet you," he made finger-guns at her with his pun on his own death. He really had changed. "Oh, and I guess that I can wipe off this stupid make-up now," he wiped at his forehead as Atlas laughed.

"He had wanted to show off that scar to you," The Founder called, "But I convinced him to cover it up until you knew he was okay."

Tali looked back at Alpha to see a wicked scar on his forehead, a few centimeters above his left eyebrow. They had hidden it well, she thought, since the mark was painfully obvious now. It was somewhat small, since the bullet had not been very large, and it had healed rather well, but the deep red color made it look larger than it was.

Alpha then reached into his pocket and produced a crumpled chunk of metal, no larger than his fingernail. "And this," he boasted, "is the bullet that killed me. I'm gonna building a display case soon, and this is definitely going to have a special spot in there."

Tali was slightly taken aback, "Why would you want to do that?" To her the memory of his death was something that she never wanted to think about. She couldn't understand why Alpha would want to have a constant reminder.

When she saw the fiery gleam in his synthetic eye, she had her answer, "As proof," he stated, wearing a grin as wicked as the scar on his forehead, "That _I_ decide when I'm done. No one, not even death itself, gets to make that decision for me. Proof that I don't need luck, so long as I have friends like you to pull me out of the fire each time I go jumping in."

Tali turned this over in her head as they boarded the elevator to head down to engineering. Alpha was very different now; not the Alpha she knew, but the Alpha she loved. He should not have survived, but he did, and that was what he focused on. He looked at what is, not what could have been. Silently, Tali resolved to take a similar view on her own situation with Alpha: he wasn't _her_ Alpha, not yet, but if they fell in love once, then they can do it again.

* * *

**A/N: So, were you confused by the flashback? It's in first person, since it's meant to be somewhat like Alpha recounting his memories to another person (Tali, the reader, it doesn't really matter who). They will continue to appear, and they should make more sense as time goes on.**

**To those of you who read it and weren't confused: long-range mind-reading is totally cheating! Stop that!**


	4. Three's a Crowd

_{June 2177}_

_{Somewhere in Antarctica}_

"Hey, Reegar!" Richard Jacobson calls over the howling snowstorm, "What do you do when you're caught in hostile conditions?"

"What?" Kal'Reegar calls back.

"Have Alpha with you, or make peace with your chosen deity!" Richard delivers his punchline. I have learned to identify when he is telling a joke, but I do not understand why this is funny. However, his unwavering sense of humor serves to increase morale, and therefore I do not criticize him.

The three of us trudge endlessly through the ice and snow. The others have trouble walking against the storm's winds, but I march forward, unfazed, overclocking my sensor suite in an effort to see any further than a few meters into the whirling cloud of frozen white.

We were deployed to Antarctica for extreme-condition survival training, and I find myself agreeing that these are indeed extreme conditions. Richard Jacobson, Kal'Reegar and I had been separated from the rest of our group, and were attempting to make our way back to camp. The snow stings our faces, and the high winds whip at our bodies, threatening to knock us down to the already slippery ice.

"Any luck with contacting base camp?" Kal asks me, moving to my side and placing a hand on my shoulder to steady himself against a particularly strong gust of wind.

"Negative," I say over comms, ensuring that I am heard, "Base camp is unreachable, and judging by the strengthening storm and dropping temperature, we will freeze to death before we reach it on foot."

"Any chance of evac?" Richard asks from my other side. He does not need to put a hand on me, as he is more accustomed to hostile weather than our Quarian squadmate.

"Negative," I say again, "I calculate only a thirty-two percent chance of a successful extraction, with a sixty-eight percent chance of catastrophic failure. We must improvise shelter or take a gamble that the storm will let up," I stop, turning to my companions, "I suggest that we find shelter; gambling is a poor strategy, especially gambling on weather."

The others agree, and I lower myself to one knee, placing my hand on the ground and unleashing a deep-range sonar pulse, creating miniscule vibrations in the ice. My sensor suite detects the sound produced, and my integrated Heads Up Display shows me the topology of the land well beyond what my eyes can see. To the northwest is a frozen cliff that we could use for shelter.

I signal for us to move out, and change course for the cliff. My internal compass had, up until now, been utilized to know the direction back to base camp. Now I use it to navigate to this impromptu shelter. We reach the cliff in just under two minutes.

"Well," Reegar comments as we move behind the cliff, safe from the storm, "It may still be cold as Hell, but at least the wind is gone."

I toss my backpack to the ground and produce the necessary materials to start a fire. My internal systems are more than enough to keep me warm here, but I know that my companions have no such ability. In moments, I stack the fuel and light it ablaze with an incinerate from my omni-tool. I had only gotten it before this mission, and it is now that I realise that it is more useful than I had originally given it credit for.

Kal'Reegar and Richard hunker by the fire, speaking their gratitude for the added warmth. I, meanwhile, move to stand watch until the storm clears. I suspect that this will take all night, and prepare for the long wait ahead of me.

As I predicted, by the next morning the storm has completely dissipated. I wake my two squadmates and we head out once more. I had carefully kept the fire fueled all night, and it went out mere minutes before we resumed our expedition. After an hour of walking, I hear the sound of shuttle engines in the distance.

"This is Wolf team leader Alpha," I say over comms, attempting to reach the craft, "If you are picking this up, I am requesting extraction for my team and myself; the three of us were separated yesterday. Broadcasting coordinates now."

Within minutes, the dropship arrives at our position, touching down just ahead of us. The door opens, and a full team of armed soldiers comes pouring out, weapons raised. This was not an allied craft. Blue Suns mercenaries, by their armor. "Thanks for the tip, Alpha," the apparent leader taunts me as they move to surround us, "You fellas should fetch a fine price."

One tries to cuff me, which is his last mistake. I grab him by the throat, lifting him up and slamming him down onto the ice, fracturing both. I toss his rifle to Richard, who catches it and begins firing in one fluid motion. I use my omni-tool to boost their shields, allowing them to take the onslaught of enemy fire. I pass my pistol to Kal'Reegar, who holds the gun with one hand, using his other to send attacks from his own omni-tool. I rip the nearest mercenary's gun from his hands and blast him to pieces with it.

With our boosted shields, we have an advantage over our enemy; the lack over cover does not hinder us, and while the Blue Suns scramble for cover against unexpected resistance, we stand our ground if not advancing. Eight enemies, reduced to six by my actions alone, then to two by Kal'Reegar and Richard. Those remaining two attempt to get back into the shuttle, but I am much faster than they are, lunging into the ship and snapping the first one's neck. The other, a batarian, I hold at gunpoint.

"Can you pilot this craft?" I demand, not caring much for his life but knowing that I would not be able to adequately perform the job in question. He nods panickedly, "Good," I growl as my companions board behind me, "If you value your life, you will fly twenty-three-point-one degrees East of North until you see a settlement. You will take us to that settlement. Attempt to call for help or divert from the path, and I will shoot you in the head."

The trip goes without problem, and soon enough we set down just outside our base camp. Several guards and trainees rush out to meet us. I grab the mercenary and haul him outside, handing him over to the guards for them to decide his fate. I see Amala running towards me.

I meet her halfway, and she wraps me in a tight hug, "I knew you'd be alright!" She exclaims, "I told them that they didn't need to risk a search party in that storm! You're too good for that!"

After all greetings have concluded, I take to my quarters. My fingers are numb from the cold, and the inactivity in the shuttle did not help. I decide to thaw them by writing this week's log.

_Alpha Log #6: Water_

_A deceptively simple thing, water. In its liquid form, it is the most essential ingredient to life as we know it. In its frozen form, it is what the others would refer to as "a bitch." I have thoroughly concluded that cold climates must be the worst variety of hostile environments._

_But water in itself is very strange. It defies all logic when it freezes; it expands. One might then assume that it would defy logic as a gas as well and condense, but that would be incorrect. This means that, supposedly, water is at its most dense in its liquid form. Many liquids do not change in density when frozen, so this would be a reasonable expectation of water, in that it might be at its most dense in both liquid and solid states, but this is not true._

_How peculiar that arguably the single most important substance to known life should be so vexing. Now that I have regained sensation in my extremities, I will seek out my next assignment. As of right now, somewhere warm would be preferable._

The door opened, and Tali walked through into the hangar bay. She had hardly slept this night, from both the revelation about Alpha and the lack of noise onboard the _Midnight_. The low hum of the drive cores was comforting, but hardly audible in the crew quarters. The only place where it could be clearly heard was in Engineering, and sleeping on the floor was only an option as a last resort. Now it was halfway through her sleep shift, and she had hardly caught a wink of slumber.

She heard the sound of a welding torch as she entered, accompanied by heavy rock music. Tali tracked the noise down to one of the twelve fighters docked in the hangar, where a familiar form lay beneath, sparks indicative of welding visible from where she stood. He was covered from the waist up, but he wasn't exactly hard to identify.

There was a pause, "Shit!" Alpha spat quietly, "Times like this I really wish I still had my synthetic arm, with the built-in torch. Gotta make do with this, though…" he resumed his work , and Tali took a seat on a nearby crate, watching. After a few minutes, the torch deactivated again, "There," Alpha said, satisfied, "Teagan should appreciate new plating there. Guy needs to learn to take better care of his damn ship, I say, but I can't exactly fault his recklessness; he gets results."

He slid out from beneath the ship, clenching his fist, then opening it and shaking his fingers. Tali saw the burn, and made a note to treat it later; it was not very severe by Alpha's standards, but it was on his trigger finger. Presently, the cybernetic engineer blinked several times, his synthetic eyes adjusting to the light. He had not been using a welding mask, since his eyes could function similarly, and his skin was resistant to radiation of all types.

After his eyes adjusted back to normal lighting, Alpha quickly noticed Tali watching him. "Oh," he said, sounding somewhat surprised, waving his hand at the radio to silence it, "hey Tali. What're you doing down here at this hour?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she retorted evenly.

Alpha shrugged, "I figured that was obvious. Besides, I asked first."

"I couldn't sleep," Tali began to explain.

"Too quiet?" Alpha finished for her, "Yeah, the change from noise to silence can be a tough one when you aren't trained for it," he gestured to himself, indicating that he possessed such training, "We'll get you used to it eventually; we kinda have to, since the ship is so quiet. For now, you can sleep in my quarters. Make as much noise as you so please up there."

There was a pause, then he raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh, come on, it's not like I haven't made this offer before; I remember that much from our time on the Normandy."

"And like last time, I will ask: what about you?" Tali challenged.

Once again, Alpha just shrugged, "Like last time, I won't be sleeping. I may not be a robot, but I still don't need nearly as much sleep as anyone else on this ship. Only an average of about four hours a night is all I need. And I got a lot more than that last night, so I'm good for a few more nights of work."

Tali sighed, "And what happens when you _do_ need your sleep again?"

"Then I'll sleep when you don't, or on the couch," he gestured around them, "Hell, Tali, I could sleep on the floor in here if I had to, and not have so much as a stiff back. I may be human, but I was still built, and I was built for adaptability and durability. My… bodily changes pending my death have only served to bolster that fact. Except, of course," he looked down at his burned finger, "for my new arm. The old one had to be scrapped, so I grew a new one, decked it out with augments, and slapped it on. It freaks people out less, but I still sort of miss my old one."

"Why did it have to be scrapped?"

"Sovereign was able to control it, he tried to make me shoot you. This made it a vulnerability, and I can't afford that. Plus, my brain injury turned the connections into seizures, so I couldn't really keep it around."

Tali nodded, "So, what's the deal with these ships?"

This drew a chuckle from Alpha (Keelah, she loved that he laughed now), "You're really determined to avoid sleep, aren't you?"

Now it was Tali's turn to shrug, "I can sleep when I want to."

"Well, if you must know," Alpha explained proudly, "these are prototype Raumkämpfer-VII 'Warden' short-range fighters, equipped with a full weapons suite and heavy shieldsー well, heavy for ships this size, anywayー and they boast the best speed, agility, firepower, durability, and sensor suite in their class. No other single fighter can best them in a dogfight."

"Two questions," Tali interjected, "One; what does Raumkämpfer mean? It didn't translate. Two; these fighters seem too good to be true. Surely there is some sort of tradeoff that you didn't mention?"

"Raumkämpfer is the result of the two conjoined words 'space fighter' in an old Earth language called German," Alpha answered smoothly, "It's sort of a slang term invented for our fighters, so I'm not surprised that your omni-tool didn't pick it up. That's why we nickname them. Warden, in this case. As for your second question, I actually did mention what the tradeoff: they're short-distance fighters. They have to be deployed into battle from the _Midnight_ directly, and can only go so far before they have to return. Each one can only travel about two-thousand kilometers or go three hours of constant dogfighting before needing to rearm and refuel. But by contrast, our crew can get them back out there in about sixty seconds, and that's if they're completely out of fuel and ammo."

"Why not use bombers? Those would be far more effective against larger ships, wouldn't they?"

"Oh, absolutely. In fact, I originally pushed to have bombers for our wing. But bombers are bigger, so we can't store as many in the hangar, plus their ammo also takes up more space. We would only be able to hold eight bombers, but we currently hold twelve Warden fighters. Plus, fighters are more versatile; they can attack larger targets, but they can also fight smaller ones, and they can defend themselves against other fighters," He laughed, "And Atlas really wanted to test out his new toys!"

They walked to the workshop, a series of small rooms connected by one large central chamber, in which all tools and weapons on the ship were built and maintained. Alpha led Tali to his personal section of the workshop, a room with a huge viewport that took up most of the far wall, providing a beautiful view of the stars around them as they whipped silently along an FTL jump.

Alpha opened a locker to reveal his own personal armaments: the weapons that she had seen him using on the Citadel, alongside a few other guns and blades. He splayed the weapons out on the large table in the center of the room, and looked up expectantly at her, "Well, I'm sure that you want to know about these, since you don't want to sleep." He was right; she did want to know.

He started with his sniper rifle. Visually, it somewhat resembled a Viper model rifle, but with a longer barrel and a bipod mount. Alpha opened it up to reveal that, as Tali had already guessed, it was most certainly not a Viper. The internals consisted of a complex network of plasma coils, electromagnets, and element zero, among other things. The circuitry was intricate, yet deceptively simple and sturdy, leaving few sensitive parts that could easily malfunction. Alpha described it as an MX-01 railgun which he had fixed and customized back in 2177, but had never actually used until he had come back from the dead six months ago. This weapon, he explained, was deliberately modified to look as much like a Viper as possible. This was meant to encourage enemies to underestimate the stopping power that the weapon possessed by disguising it as a much less powerful weapon of similar function. In reality, the Watchman, as he called it, boasted a relatively high semi-automatic rate of fire, similar to the Viper, and a magazine size of ten. The stopping power exceeded even that of the Mantis, using magnetic acceleration and used element zero to induce the mass effect, producing a muzzle velocity of 63% of the speed of light. "In other words," Alpha explained, "it uses conventional methods to accelerate it, but it also uses the same principle that ships use for FTL jumps. The lack of a drive core, though, and lack of time for exposure to the eezo means that it only gets so fast. If the barrel were twice as long, then maybe we could be shooting them out at light speed, but then the gun would be too big." On top of this, there was a built-in plasma induction port that infuzed each round with the super-heated substance, adding even greater damage to each shot and increasing effectiveness against shields and armor. Finally, Alpha had integrated a gyroscopic mechanism that would adjust his scope to compensate for crosswinds, changing the alignment up to four degrees in any direction.

Next up were his twin pistols. Alpha described how they were actually modified Predators, and up close Tali could see the dual barrels on each one. However, the barrels were much closer together, giving the guns a much sleeker, more compact look. He had also tripled the damage output by changing the internals, turning them into plasma pistols. Unlike the Watchman, with its plasma-infused rounds, these actually fired proper plasma bolts, similarly to Geth weaponry. He called the pistols Death and Taxes, and it mattered not which was which, since they were exactly the same. Both possessed an infrared laser sight tuned to a wavelength picked up by his eyesー and displayed on an overlay in themー so that only he could see them. An interesting fact, Alpha pointed out, was that Death and Taxes did not use thermal clips.

In the months following The Battle for the Citadel, the galaxy's militaries unanimously agreed to make the switch from heat sinks to thermal clips. In the short term, they were more effective for firefights and skirmishes, since users would not have to wait for their weapons to cool down. However, The Founder and his Admirals saw this as a mistake, and the VMC largely stuck with heat sinks for their weapons. Some weapons, such as ballistic models (which were only used by a few Officers anyway) and railguns such as the Watchman always used magazines, but anything with a heat sink kept the heat sink, as it completely removed the need to reload and was more cost-efficient. Death and Taxes each used a set advanced heat sinks that allowed for extended periods of constant fire and a short cooldown period. Alpha's weapons were better than anything in their class, but as he noted, "They're hard to make, and extremely expensive if you want to mass-produce them without cutting corners. One of these pistols alone would cost about seven-hundred thousand credits, I estimate. It cost me about half as much, and that's because I got lucky enough to find some spare parts that were easy to repair." Lastly, Death and Taxes featured an automatic firing mode, meaning that they doubled as machine pistols, negating the need for a submachine gun.

Next was a shotgun, which Alpha had never used, but had it "just in case." It was a modified Eviscerator model, something that Tali could finally recognize. Eviscerators were banned by numerous conventions, due to the fact that they fired jagged projectiles shaved off of a block of material, unlike most other shotguns which just fired small chunks. It fired what amounted to small, serrated daggers. Due to this, most militaries did not use the Eviscerator, including the majority of the VMC. However, Atlas was and always had been a man of practicality; the Eviscerator was certainly more primitive than other models, and much messier (which said something, as these were shotguns), but it was extremely effective at delivering a quick and mostly painless death. Alpha had actually managed to modify this one to fire each shard individually, individually tracking each target and firing each shard to hit any number of targets in the most effective pattern. In other words, this was a shotgun that was guaranteed to hit with every projectile, provided that there was a target within range that was somewhere within its spread angle. It aimed for key points on the body to kill targets as fast as possible, prioritizing headshots for obvious reasons. This Eviscerator fired three shards with every pull of the trigger, which meant a maximum of three kills per shot, which was very good given that such numbers were basically guaranteed.

Alpha handed the shotgun to Tali, "I don't have much use for it, but I know how much you like your shotguns. Name it or don't, it's up to you, but it's yours now either way."

Finally, Alpha presented his assault rifle. It had the appearance of an old ballistic M4 model rifle, but Tali knew that guns were as they appeared when it came to Alpha. Indeed, he revealed that the weapon was actually rather conventional, being much closer to modern weapons. Naturally, it boasted a higher-than-normal stopping power and a set of heat sinks. However, as he explained, he still had to use thermal clips for this gun, since it generated much more heat than his pistols. The sinks combined with the clips allowed him to fire fifty to sixty shots before needing to reload; once the clip heated up, it did not cool down fast enough to negate the need to reload. The way that he had needed to build the internals, the heat sinks prevented heat from ever reaching the thermal clip, and the clip itself was actually a secondary measure. However, some heat from each shot always reached the thermal clip, and sustained fire only caused it to heat up faster, since the heat sinks could only do so much so fast. This was why the number of shots varied before reloading was necessary; it depended on how rapidly he was shooting.

Shortly after Alpha finished showing off his weapons, and the two of them had taken to individual examination, the _Midnight_ dropped out of FTL. "We're here," Alpha murmured, walking to the viewport to see another, somewhat smaller ship waiting nearby. He held a finger to his ear, speaking through comms, "Didn't keep you waiting long, I hope?"

"Not at all, sir," a soldier replied, "Been waiting about two minutes now. We ready to go pick up our VIPs?"

"Affirmative. Set course for Illium, boys and girls; it's time to pick up some old friends."

The trip was short; the meeting point had been near a mass relay. They reached Illium in less than half an hour, and took a dropship down to the surface. It was the only other ship in the _Midnight_'s hangar bay; a standard VMC VTOL unit with a bit of added plating and all of the standard armaments. They docked and took to the streets on foot, Alpha leading Tali and two crewmembers from the other ship to a small repair shop, tucked away in one of the smaller streets. Strangely enough, Tali actually felt safer in this backstreet, though she knew that she should feel more alert if anything; Illium was just a nice facade for a place riddled with crime. It was no wonder Alpha started his new life by finding his feet here.

They entered the garage to find a Quarian lying beneath a skycar, working on the undercarriage. She slid out from beneath at the sound of their entrance. The Quarian looked at them for a moment, then turned her head toward the back of the shop and called indifferently, "Blaze! Either you got visitors, or our clientele suddenly includes military-types!" She then moved back underneath the vehicle without another word, resuming her work, unfazed by the fact that four heavily-armed individuals darkened her doorway.

Footsteps approached from the back, then a familiar face rounded the corner to spot them. "Well, I'll be damned," he said with a chuckle, "I didn't think that I was important enough to warrant a visit from The Founder's right hand."

"Yeah, well, we need a good Captain," Alpha retorted friendlily, "And your record is, shall we say, outstanding?" They laughed for a moment, then Alpha smiled, "Damn good to see you again, Reegar, but I heard you being called 'Blaze' just now?"

"Oh, that's just a nickname I've been given," Kal'Reegar explained, "since I'm a 'trailblazer' for being among the first to work with you people on my pilgrimage. I've learned to just go with it."

"So, this is our VIP?" Tali asked, "I must say that you know who to recruit."

"Ma'am," Kal acknowledged her, snapping off a salute, "Good to see the two of you working together again."

"Oh, you have no idea, Kal," Alpha laughed, "You have no idea."

Kal'Reegar packed up his few belongings into a duffel bag, and they headed out once more. Tali moved to strike up a conversation with the Quarian marine. "So," she asked, "You've been spending your time in a repair shop?"

Reegar chuckled, "Yeah, I have. I needed a break from the action, so I called up some friends from the VEINS and they landed me at that little garage. They own the place, you know; they have automated security systems hidden all over the street, keeping it safe. It's actually meant for Quarians here on Illium who need a job and a safe place to stay, but they have a lot of those here. Been there for about a month now, I estimate."

"Are you disappointed that we cut your break short?"

"Ha! Honestly, I've been itching for some action these past few days. Alpha contacted me a few days ago and offered me a chance to be Captain of one of his subordinate ships. Of course I said yes."

This time, they traveled to a much nicer part of town, where Alpha led them to a bar. The sign overhead read: "The Rusty Gear." It stood out from the other establishments around it, exhibiting fine wooden walls and framework. As they stepped inside, Tali noted that this place lived up to its name; there were old, rusty tools and parts hung up all over the walls, especially large gears. A familiar face worked the counter, and he noticed them almost instantly.

"Well howdy, ya'll!" Richard Jacobson called out, smiling brightly, "Fancy seein' you lot 'round here! Can I get'cha anythin' to drink?"

"And that," Alpha joked as he took a seat at the bar, "truly is a fine way to say 'hello.' How ya been, Rick? Kids doing well?"

Richard waved the rest of them over to the empty stools at the bar, "Augustin and Irisa have left the house now. Got their mom's biotic powers, they did, so they went to Grissom Academy."

"And what about little Thomas?"

"Tom just started talkin' last I heard. That was last week."

"That's great, Rick!" Alpha congratulated him, "That's awesome!"

"How old is Thomas?" Tali asked curiously.

"He's almost six years old," Richard answered somewhat sheepishly, "We're pretty sure he has Autism of some kind; boy can read and do math at a tenth grade level, but he don't like to talk to no one, not even his own mom, Jessica. But recently he's been talking to Jess… a lot, actually. I talk to them at every opportunity I get."

"You must miss them very much," Tali sympathized, thinking back to her own father on the Flotilla; Rael'Zorah had no idea where his daughter even was right now. She knew that he would never approve, so she simply chose to go with Alpha without telling her father.

"Actually," Richard interrupted her thoughts, "funny you should mention that. I miss my family every day, but most fellers like me have to worry about not seein' their kids," he shook his head sadly, "Seen too many good guys and gals go home to children who don't know who they are. But Tom gets to see my mug over video, and that's good enough for him. He understands that my job means that I can't be home real often. Somethin' 'bout his condition, I reckon."

"Well I'm glad that it's been working out for you," Tali said optimistically, trying to make sure things stayed bright in the room, "So what have you got to drink?"

Richard smiled, "Thank you, miss Zorah," he said sincerely, addressing her first statement, "That means a lot to me, truly." He then sighed, and like a switch he was back to his happy self, "Well, to answer your question, we've got a variety of different Dextro and Levo drinks of all strengths. There's the stuff that you can find anywhere, but I also brew my own stuff here."

He produced a bottle of liquor from beneath the counter. Tali read the label aloud, "'Rusty Gear Dextro Tequila.' Um…" she gestured to the bottle, "How much for some of this?"

"For you lot?" Richard said with a broad smile, "It's on the house. Have as much as you want!"

Tali raised an eyebrow at him from behind her visor, "What's the catch?"

"No catch, no gimmicks, no strings attached, just the best homemade drinks in the galaxy!" He leaned in, adding quietly, "Plus, I reckon that I'm gonna be giving this stuff to our crews for free anyway. Only for off-duty time, of course."

"So your our second Sub-Captain?" Tali reasoned, drinking through a special straw that Richard supplied, "If nothing else, Alpha has chosen people we know and trust. And there is certainly more than nothing else."

"When can I expect you to be ready, Rick?" Alpha asked, getting back to business.

"Already packed my things. Just need to tell Sam that I'm leaving, and she'll take over the bar from there. Meet you at the docks in five."

"Alright," Alpha nodded, "Gimme something strong before we go."

…

"The _Sun Gunner_ should be a lot nicer for planets with docks," Alpha commented as they stepped onto the bridge of the _Midnight_, "And while I think that Kal is going to enjoy that assault ship, I have a feeling Richard might like his just a little bit more…"

He motioned out through the viewport with his right-hand omni-tool, and as if from nowhere a third ship appeared to accompany the _Midnight_ and the _Sun Gunner_, the first ship that they had met with before heading to Illium.

Alpha smiled proudly, "The third and final ship now under my command: the _Revenant_. Our stealth drive just came out of prototype stage a month ago, and we put it to use in this beauty. As you just saw, it can cloak itself completely, even from visual detection. Based on the Normandy's stealth drive, it hides itself from nearly any scanners by killing its heat signature to match its environment, then we reimagined the personal cloaking tech that came out a few months ago, so that it could hide an entire ship from view, not just a single person."

"What's the catch?" Tali asked, still buzzed from her drink on Illium.

"It can't attack while invisible. In order to use the stealth drive, power has to be rerouted from weapons systems. This switch can happen in seconds, thanks to the ship's systems containing some automations developed by yours truly," he took a sarcastic bow, "and an excellent crew. While cloaked, the _Revenant_ can slip through enemy lines completely undetected, popping out to launch a barrage of various weapons, then slip right back into stealth. Can't take much of a beating like we or the _Sun Gunner_ can, but you can't hit what you can't see, can you?"

"Well I love it," Richard interjected, approaching from behind them, "So much that I'm gonna head over there right now and introduce myself. Later, Alpha."

"Later, Rick," Alpha waved as his friend left for the hangar bay.

"Tell me about the weapons," Tali murmered, resting her head on Alpha's shoulder.

Alpha chuckled, "Not even sure if you'll be able to stay awake for it, but sure. The _Revenant_ has an array of fire-and-forget missiles that it can fire in volleys, allowing for blitzkrieg tactics, and a few plasma cannons as a backup plan; it's meant for stealth recon and hard, fast strikes, not sustained combat. The _Sun Gunner_ is the polar opposite, more or less, with short-range plasma throwers for close-quarters encountersー they're a bit like massive flamethrowers, but they work in the vacuum of spaceー and several gun batteries as its primary firepower. Unlike us, they're turrets are positioned for frontal assaults; they don't have great coverage to the sides or rear, while we're equal all around. The _Sun Gunner_ can take more of a beating, and as such it in itself is a weapon; the main thrusters are able to provide a temporary but massive boost to speed, making for extremely effective tactical collisions."

"Mmh," Tali mumbled, already falling asleep, "sounds like we're ready for war."

Alpha grimaced inwardly, picking her up in his arms to put her to bed, "Well, we have to be ready for anything. These days, the best way people like me can help is to have the loudest voice and the biggest guns."

As he carried her into the Captain's cabin, Tali tugged at his collar, semi-conscious, "Too quiet," she muttered softly, "Can you tell me a story?"

Alpha considered making a joke about how she was a little old for bedtime stories, but decided to just go with it. After all, he needed her to be well-rested for their first mission. Without thinking, he laid down on the couch and rested Tali on top of him, her head on his chest. It was only after he had gotten comfortable that he realised what he was doing. He heard Atlas's voice from a few months ago, "_Think carefully before doing anything with anyone else; there are boundaries that you don't quite understand yet, so you need to make sure that your actions are appropriate and aren't misinterpreted._" Strangely enough, he felt no need to move; this felt… good, almost right.

Upon his mental command, the ceiling plating slid away to reveal a reinforced viewport, giving an excellent view of the stars as they soared through space. "Got any story in particular you want to hear?"

"The Arkon," Tali requested, and Alpha could hear her trying to stay as awake as possible, "I remember that story; I even had a dream about it once, when we went to Earth together that one time. But can you explain what actually _happened_ there, and why it's named like that?"

Alpha thought for a moment, recalling the battle. He _had_ told her the story, and though he still was not the best storyteller, he was certainly better now than he was then. He took a deep breath and started to tell his story.

"I suppose that I should start with the name. I actually had to ask Atlas about that myself. Hundreds of years ago, during humanity's first World War, there was an allied battalionー Liberty Division, they were calledー who found themselves trapped in The Forest of Argonne, France. They were completely surrounded by enemy forces, with no hope of reinforcements. When their HQ tried to drop supplies on them, poor communication and coordination caused those supplies to be dropped right onto their enemy. All hope seemed lost for the men of The Lost Battalion."

"But then something happened that no one could have predicted; even with no hope of rescue, against overwhelming odds and with dwindling supplies, Liberty Division struck back ferociously against their foes, actually _gaining ground_ as they fought their way out of Hell and into legend. Far from their homeland, they made their stand against insurmountable odds. There was no way to get even a single message through to HQ. It was surrender or die for those men, but they chose to win or die trying. They would rather have died than give up. For months, they fought tirelessly, and after those months the survivors finally broke through enemy lines and were saved. But that's the origin of the name. Arkon, named after Argonne."

"I can't tell you what planet we were actually on; I can't remember, and the file is redacted. But we weren't on Earth, I can tell you that. We ended up in more or less the same situation; trapped in a forest, surrounded on all sides by enemy forces. Thing is, this was an unknown enemy at the time, and they were there to capture the prototype space station that we were constructing in orbit overhead. My CO was killed in the initial attack, so command over by battalion fell to me. I actually learned about The Lost Battalion a while afterward, but I followed my instincts and my training, leading my men and women through the trees and spearheading a counter-assault to forge ahead in a single direction, knowing that we would leave the forest eventually. Instead of months, the Battle of Arkon lasted only a few days, but those were rough days that we had to endure. I don't think that there was a single moment between the first shots and our extraction that I couldn't hear gunfire, and comms were jammed. But since it was very similar to that historical event, Atlas dubbed it so."

"And I only had to experience half of it. Captain Winters ended up fighting on a whole other front; our enemies had actually gotten onto the station and were tearing the place up. He had to gather the scattered survivors of that initial attack and retake the station, all without a working comms network. It was because of his leadership aboard the station that he was able to get evac ships down to us. That station is still in operation if memory serves, and they hold a huge celebration annually to commemorate our victory that day."

"Did you ever find out who attacked you?" Tali inquired, looking up at him.

"Some human-supremacist terrorist group. They're still around, regrettably; call themselves Cerberus. They've been our sworn enemies ever since that battle, naturally, since we have the exact opposite goal: unity of all species, rather than one to rule them all, let alone humanity."

They laid there in silence afterward, Alpha staring at the stars as Tali drifted off to sleep. Alpha begrudgingly admitted to himself that he, too, should get some shuteye while he had the chance. They were going to be arriving on Earth soon, and it was going to be a very busy day.

As he allowed himself to fall asleep, he wondered if Tali knew anything about horses, and if he would have to teach her to ride one or have her ride on the back of his. His last thought before sleep took hold was if she liked dogs or not, and if she knew anything about those either.

* * *

**A/N: Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! I'm laying out a lot of information early on so that I can focus on story afterward, which is why things are more descriptions and whatnot. Not to fear, though, this chapter got a HUGE chunk of that out of the way. The rest can be integrated far more smoothly later on.**

**For those of you who want to know what these ships in the story look like, I imagine them as basically the following ships from the game Fractured Space: _Midnight_ is the Leviathan, _Sun Gunner_ is the Furion, and the _Revenant_ is the Basilisk. And yes, for those of you who have played that game (it is no longer available to download, at least not on steam, but can still be played by those who already have it, such as myself) I have heavily based the ships themselves on their Fractured Space counterparts, including the weapons and abilities. It started with the _Midnight_, which actually was an original idea that happened to line up by coincidence, then the other two were just too good to pass up. I truly am sorry if this annoys you, but I love Fractured Space and its plethora of ships, and want to show it some love here.**

**Personally, I do not see this as a crossover, since I am only using the concepts of a few ships in a way that (to me) is not significant enough to warrant that classification. If anyone wants to come to me with something that objectively states that this should be a crossover, then be my guest. Truly, this borrowing of ships is sort of laziness on my part, but at the same time I am no artist, and I just can't come up with anything better after seeing these ships from FS, if anyone can relate to that.**

**Have fun out there, be kind, and thank you for giving purpose to my writing!**

**-VV**


	5. Ghosts

_{October 2177}_

_{Australia, 1274 kilometers from Second Eden}_

"Alright," Ace says, bringing his ride to a stop, "this is as far as the horses take us. Tie them up here and we'll retrieve them when we're done." There is a small spring nearby that the horses can drink from, and I discern that what plant life is present is edible for them.

"Ace," Richard Jacobson asks, "remind me what we're doing here?"

Ace sighs. He is a fit man with intense eyes and a steady hand. He is Bishop-2, meaning that he is one of the two best snipers in the entirety of the VEINS Military Coalition. Wearing thin black body armor that I identify as stealth armor, he is able to turn himself completely invisible to the untrained eye. After watching his entire company get wiped out by mercenaries two years ago, Ace pushed himself to become the best, now able to kill dozens of enemies with ruthless efficiency. Despite this, he was patient and friendly with us.

"We're here to investigate rumors of a separatist base set up somewhere in these woods," Ace explained, "due to fears that, should the rumors be true, they might launch an attack on Second Eden. Honestly, this is just to keep the masses calm, since we could easily repel anything that they could possibly throw at us, especially if it's small enough to be undetectable by satellite."

"And why exactly are we doing this at night?" Richard asks. I detect in his voice that he is slightly disgruntled at the idea of operating in the near-total darkness enveloping us.

"My eyes work better at night," Ace justifies, "Too many nighttime ops will do that to you. I can see just fine in the day, but I need shades to prevent my retinas from burning out. Besides, I don't hear Alpha or Kal complaining."

"That is most probably the case," I interject, seeking to keep squad cohesion at maximum, "due to the fact that both Kal'Reegar and I possess inhuman eyes capable of natural night vision. Richard is at a disadvantage here," I turn to my comrade, handing him a set of night-vision goggles, "unless you use these. They are mine, but I do not foresee myself needing them."

"Thanks, Alpha," Richard accepts the equipment gratefully. He fits them onto his head and powers them on, taking a look around, "Yup, that's way better; I can actually see more than two feet in front of me!"

We walk forward through the forest, three humans and one quarian, keeping our eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. I boost my sensors to look ahead to where my eyes cannot yet see, and I find what I am looking for. "Gentlemen," I caution, "I am detecting heat signatures ahead."

"How many?" Kal'Reegar asks, clutching his rifle.

I scan for a moment, then shake my head, "At least fifty, but they are too densely arranged to tell for sure."

Ace draws his MX-1 railgun from his back, motioning for me to do the same, "I was hoping for a quiet night, but they never send Alpha Black or a Bishop on a quiet mission, do they?" He broke into a run, and we follow suit, "Alpha, I know I'm meant to be in charge here, but you have the intel right now. What's the play?"

I chamber a round in my railgun; the same railgun that he had given me to repair a few months ago. "They appear to be at a lower elevation, probably a basin of some kind. You and I will move along the edge to provide cover with our railguns, while Richard and Kal'Reegar get into position to charge and attack."

"Good," Kal'Reegar comments, "I was hoping for some real action. And this time, we have the element of surprise on our side."

I sprint ahead of the group, reaching the edge of the basin. Indeed, there is an enemy encampment at the bottom, bustling with armed separatists. Staying low, I move along the perimeter to flank them, lowering myself into a prone position near a boulder that I judge should provide sufficient cover, should my enemies choose to focus on me.

In my Heads Up Display, my squadmates' ready lights flash on, indicating that they are in position. "On my shot," I whisper into comms, taking careful aim at a soldier wearing heavy armor. I line up my crosshairs on his temple, give a moment's pause, and squeeze the trigger.

A six-ounce tungsten missile shoots through the air from the muzzle of my railgun, reaching its target in an instant. He is speaking to one of his terrorist friends one moment, then his head explodes as the high-caliber round makes contact. At the massive sound of my shot, the other three squad members open fire, Ace picking off another heavy soldier with his own railgun.

Richard and Kal'Reegar take cover near the outer portion of the basin, firing their assault rifles in a pattern such that while one reloads, the other keeps firing. The separatists, caught off-guard by our ambush, are cut down rapidly, dying where they stand as chaos erupts throughout the camp. Those who survive the initial assault regroup and move to attack Reegar and Richard.

"Alpha!" Ace shouts through comms, "Those terrorists are gonna chew them up! Move to assist!" Before he even finishes his order, I am on my feet and leaping down into the basin, stowing my railgun in favor of my twin pistols, designed to look like old P30 model ballistic pistols, but in truth they are far more deadly.

I pistol whip the first assailant with my left hand, breaking his neck and snapping his head to an awkward angle. Shooting the next two, I leap up onto the roof of the nearest prefab structure, spraying fire down on them to kill five more. One blasts me with a shotgun, hitting the right half of my body with pellets. It hurts immensely, but I push through the pain and continue fighting.

I empty my guns and drop back down, grabbing one man's hands over his rifle and forcing him to shoot at his allies, killing four more. When his weapon is empty, I jerk the stock back into his face, shattering his nose. I whirl around, extending my leg to deliver a crushing kick to the neck of another separatist, collapsing his windpipe as I turn back to ram my fist into another's rib cage, shattering the bones.

Two bullets ricochet off of the plating on my back. No damage is done, but it hurts considerably. Grunting, I reload my pistols and open fire once more, taking down several more enemies before a third heavy soldier, one that Ace and I had not killed, hits me in the back of the head with the stock of his heavy machine gun, catching me off-guard as my pistols fall from my hands and sending me face-first into the dirt.

I roll over onto my back, snatching one of my weapons up off the ground and emptying the magazine at my assailant. To no avail; each shot bounces harmlessly off of his armor as he steps toward me.

As strong as my augmented body is, this brute's powered armor is strong enough to overpower me. With one massive mechanical hand, he grabs me by the abdomen and lifts me into the air, slamming me back down with enough force to fracture my skeletal structure. Pain shoots through my entire body as he throws me against a wall like a ragdoll, and the sound of two of my ribs breaking is loud enough to hear across the basin, I estimate as I slide to the ground.

I stagger to my feet, taking a fighting stance. He laughs at the sight of me, broken and bloody, still trying to put up a fight. I charge him, swinging with my left arm at his head. However, I am too slow to dodge his own punch to my abdomen, stunning me for just long enough to deliver an uppercut to my chin, sending my backwards several meters.

Getting to my feet once more, swinging futilely at the separatist with my right arm. He catches my swing, twisting my arm until the bones begin to snap and break. He kicks me hard, sending me down onto my back once again. Before I can get back up, he plants a boot on my chest.

"You don't stand a chance against me, Vindicator," he taunts me, using the wrong title. He is correct; I am physically broken and unable to fight. Luckily, I am not working alone. I see the signal in my HUD just moments before the blast of an MX-1 temporarily drowns out the sounds of battle. The slug rips through the air, colliding with the heavy soldier's head at such high velocity that his helmet might as well not be there. His head explodes into a mess of gore and shards of armor plating, and the slug streaks just past my head as I tilt it to the left, dodging the shot by no more than two centimeters.

The remaining separatists surrender quickly, realizing that they have no chance of victory here. Kal'Reegar and Richard secure their weapons and cuff them while Ace helps me to my feet.

"Thank you," I force out of my burning lungs as he moves under my arm to support me.

"Don't mention it," he says dismissively, grunting under my weight, "Bastard got you good. You didn't exactly make it easy for me to get a clear shot at him, either."

I shrug, "My mission was to kill him, and that is what I attempted to do."

Ace shakes his head, chuckling, "That hard-headedness is gonna get you killed someday."

"Don't go saying that, Ace," Reegar remarks jokingly, "I'm pretty sure he'll take it as a challenge."

"We were in the same class during training," Richard adds, "Pretty sure that if he died with any reason to keep living, he would find a way to come back from the dead!"

Ace laughs, "That'll be the day!"

* * *

The two of them stepped down the ramp onto the frozen ground of the tundra, Alpha taking a deep breath of the cold air. The crisp, dry air felt refreshing just to inhale after days aboard the _Midnight_. Though the cruiser had state-of-the-art atmospheric recycling systems, and its air was relatively fresh when compared to most other in-class ships, there was nothing like the air of Earth's atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere.

Behind them trailed two pitch-black horses, led by a cybernetic German shepherd. The dog brought the larger animals to Tali and Alpha, then sat down as it awaited further orders. Alpha crouched next to him, scratching him behind the ears fondly. "Good job, Lucky," he said, as if speaking to a human, "If half of our soldiers were as good as you, we wouldn't have any war."

Tali crouched next to Lucky, mimicking Alpha's actions and scratching the dog behind the ears. Lucky pressed into her hand, leaning against her affectionately. He barked once happily, his mechanical tail wagging energetically. "So, this is a 'dog' like you were telling me about?" she asked.

Alpha shrugged, moving to tend to the horses, "Sort of. Lucky here is quite a bit like me, in that a cybernetic soldier with more to him than just an ability to kill. Aside from his robotic bits, he's a German shepherd; a breed of dog known for their size and intelligence. Lucky has a couple of neural implants that make him even smarter, and let him somewhat understand what we say."

Tali looked over the implants of the creature before her. Lucky had a set of cybernetic eyes similar to Alpha's, a mechanical jaw, two synthetic legs, and a synthetic tail that was presently wagging intensely. Alpha had told her that a wagging tail meant that they were happy. The majority of Lucky's body was otherwise organic, though Tali was certain that there were more subdermal implants to be listed.

"Will he be coming with us?" Tali inquired curiously.

Alpha nodded, "Mm-hm. That mutt has a sniffer like no other; he can smell threats from a mile away." Tali cocked her head at him. "Okay, that's probably a hyperbole," Alpha admitted, "But I've never actually tested it. Besides, it depends on how strong and distinct the scent is."

Alpha showed Tali how to mount her horse. She attempted to get her leg over the saddle, but ended up falling backward. She yelped as she felt herself slipping, only to feel Alpha's hands holding her up. She looked down to see Alpha looking up at her with a sympathetic smile. She blushed beneath her mask as he helped her into her saddle, completely unaware that his constant touch was anything unusual.

He mounted his own steed without difficulty. Lucky stood, ready to follow them on foot. Tali looked to Alpha, "Are you sure that Lucky should be walking after us?"

"Absolutely," Alpha laughed, "He's been itching for some exercise. Poor boy's been cooped up on that ship longer than we have. Don't be surprised if he starts running laps around us; not much room for running anywhere onboard, and this fresh air is probably going to energize him like a power cell."

They started their course through the frozen forest. Tali had no idea how to ride a horse, so she just did her best to mimic Alpha's movements and let her mount follow beside his. After a short time, she turned to him, "You haven't told me what we're doing here."

"We're here to pay a visit to the old WhiteMask facility in which I was forged," Alpha stated bluntly, "It's time I faced my past. Maybe put a fucking bomb in there and turn it into a crater. Either way, we're going to find out why we're suddenly detecting heat signatures there."

"Keelah," Tali breathed, "Just like that? You're going back there just because of some heat signatures? Why couldn't you send someone else?"

Alpha shrugged, "Because no one else was willing to go. Besides, I need to go back there and see my birthplace with new eyes," he gestured to his synthetic eyes, "figuratively and literally. Besides, if someone survived from back then and is now trying to start it back up, it's sort of poetic justice that I'm the one to put a stop to it."

They rode silently until they came across the ruined shell of what looked like a laboratory. The structure looked like it had been bombed out a dozen times over. Alpha dismounted, took a few steps forward, and stopped to gaze upon the facility before him. Tali moved beside him to see that he was staring through the building, lost in memory.

"Six years," he said coldly, "I haven't been here in six years. I was so alone when I was here, with no one to turn to when things got tough. I had to learn how to rely solely on myself for everything. I never wanted to come back here; it only holds those memories of loneliness and pain." His left hand clenched into a fist, then relaxed. He was remembering his mechanical arm. It was then that Tali properly noticed that Alpha no longer had his synthetic limb, and instead possessed an organic arm.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well, you aren't alone now. We're in this together, Alpha."

Her voice seemed to shake him of his flashbacks. He turned to face her, smiling as he placed a hand over hers, "You're right. I don't know what I would do without you, Tali."

They explored the outside of the dilapidated laboratory, seeking an entrance. Alpha scanned the walls with his eyes, finding no doors that weren't caved in or jammed shut. As they passed a window, Tali looked just in time to see a dark figure moving from within, and moving fast. She jumped back, grabbing Alpha's arm instinctively.

"I saw it too," he muttered quietly before she could say anything, "WhiteMask got up to some fucked-up shit in this place, and I dare say that they produced peopleー no, _things_ー more twisted and horrible than even me."

He produced his bat, hefting the heavy weapon. Alpha had actually let Tali test his bat during their trip, and she was intimately aware of how dense it truly was; her wrist still hurt slightly from when she had taken a swing. Presently, Alpha took a swing at the glass window with the blunt weapon, shattering the pane and sending glass shards into the room beyond.

"Come on," Alpha said cooly, visibly shifting into a mental combat mode as he stepped through the window pane, "Whatever that thing was, it can move. If it moves, it lives and if it lives…"

"… It can be killed," Tali finished, following Alpha into the darkened building. Lucky leapt in after them, and Tali noted that he looked just as alert as Alpha. Even though she had two highly-trained and experienced cybernetic combatants with her, as well as her own powerful shotgun, Tali couldn't help but worry about their well-being, and the nature of their target.

As they searched the large room, Tali's natural night vision helped her see what she was doing. They searched through several crates of old tech, finding weapons and materials that she made a mental note to come back for later; her people could use all of this scrap. Meanwhile, Alpha took the opposite corner to commence his own search.

"He's probably worried about you, you know," Omega offered, standing adjacent to her and peering into the crate that she was searching, "You really should talk to him. He needs you right now just as much as you need him, maybe more."

Tali shook her head, "No. I can't do that, especially not now. He's so different now, Omega…"

"So?" the hologram-like AI challenged, "Do you not love him anymore? Would you rather have the old Alpha back?"

"No!" Tali said quickly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Alpha hadn't heard her. She turned back to Omega, continuing quietly, "Dammit, I think I love him even more now, if anything. But I don't know if he still feels the same way about me! What if it ruins our friendship? I don't know what I'd do without him!"

"Didn't he say the exact same thing about you?" Omega countered, "Seriously, Tali; if you wait too long, he might very well find someone else, and then what will we do? Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

"I… I know," Tali conceded, "But not now, okay? I don't want to put that stress on him right now. This would be the worst time to spring that on him."

"Alright," Omega agreed, "I can accept that reasoning. He doesn't need to worry even more about you today."

…

Rummaging through the crates of old technology absentmindedly, Alpha found his thoughts drifting constantly to the quarian woman across the room. He should never have pulled her into this; not only should this be his trial to bear alone, but now there was an unknown enemy somewhere in the base that had both of them on edge. While she must have known that she was free to leave at any time, Alpha was worried that he was forcing this upon her somewhat.

"Of course you're forcing this on her," Amala taunted from atop one of the crates, "You force everything on her. How long will it be before you force _yourself_ upon her, you big brute?"

"Shut up," Alpha muttered, "If Tali doesn't want me, then I will live alone. I will never disrespect her desires."

"What was that?" Tali called curiously, "Did you say my name, Alpha?"

His first instinct was to deny this, but then he remembered the shadowy figure, and thought better of it; no need to scare her further. Thinking quickly, he just decided to be honest, "Don't worry about it, Tali. Just…" he looked scornfully at Amala, "Some memories that I forgot to remember to forget."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Eh, nevermind," Alpha said dismissively, "Just a lot of unpleasant memories here."

"Smooth, Alpha," Amala said sarcastically, "Brush her off, why don't you? Way to make her feel special."

Alpha didn't bother gracing her with a response, instead focusing on the reflection in the glass in front of him, where a cloaked figure inched closer to Tali across the room. Alpha slowly reached for his pistol, planning his next move mentally as the figure drew ever nearer to his secret love.

"Hey, Tali," he called, acting nonchalant, "Could you come over here for a second?"

"Sure," she called back, moving to meet him across the room. The cloaked figure followed, unaware that they were spotted.

Alpha whipped around, firing from the hip as the infrared laser sight landed on the person's head. Tali screamed as she dove forward, thinking that he was shooting at her. The man's cloak dissipated as he somehow dodged out of the way of the bullet, flipping backwards skillfully.

He stood again, scowling at Alpha to reveal that he had glowing eyes like his, but green. "So," he snarled, "The great Alpha returns to the scene of the crime, after six years!"

"Delta," Alpha barked, raising his weapon fully, "What the Hell are you doing here!?"

"I was born here, retard!" Delta shouted, "But you wouldn't know what that's like, being born? I never left this place after you destroyed it! I was born and raised here!"

"Then die here," Tali said coldly from her position on the floor, raising her shotgun and firing a single blast into Delta's chest, ripping him apart and killing him instantly. She moved to stand, but something grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air.

Another test subject decloaked, this one with orange eyes and a head of messy brown hair. He looked at Tali with no emotion, watching as he choked her slowly. Two more appeared, one was a man with red eyes, the other a woman with purple eyes. They peered at her with similarly unfeeling faces, watching as she struggled uselessly.

Alpha tried to move to help her, but one last subject appeared just behind him, and before he could react, the fourth super-soldier grabbed him and put him in a headlock, clamping his neck into their elbow. Alpha grabbed at the arm, making to rip it away as he normally would, but as he pulled, his eyes widened as he realised that it wasn't working.

Just then, Lucky leapt out from behind the crates, grabbing the orange-eyed man by the throat by jumping into the air and clamping his titanium jaw down on his throat, the powerful bionic augment tearing through his flesh. He dropped Tali, who fell to one knee as she gasped for air.

The grip around his own neck slackened ever so slightly, and Alpha took the opportunity to wrap his leg around the backside of his opponent's, pulling forward while throwing his weight backwards, sending them down and slamming them onto their back. This was enough to get them to release him, and he leapt to his feet and whirled around to see his own face staring back at him, with his old yellow eyes glowing intensely.

Alpha stepped back, hardly able to believe his eyes. Tali appeared at his side, also staring in disbelief. "They…" Alpha breathed, grabbing Tali's hand protectively as he backed toward the hallway, "What the fuck."

The Alpha-clone got to his feet, "You should never have come here," he said in Alpha's old monotonous voice, "The Shadow Broker has given us an order: kill you and your quarian friend. You have just sealed your fate, traitor."

"The Shadow Broker!?" Alpha repeated in shocked confusion.

"Alpha, run!" Tali yelled, pulling him into the hallway as she threw a grenade into the room. Lucky sprinted after them, dodging out of the way as the mechanical soldiers tried to grab him. Alpha made sure that the dog was safely out of the room before pelting off after Tali. The grenade went off, filling the room behind them with shrapnel and causing the roof to cave in. A piece of shrapnel buzzed past his head, slicing along his cheek. Alpha stumbled as the pain blossomed in his face, holding a hand to the gash as he kept running.

"Where are we going!?" Tali yelled as Alpha led her down several flights of steps.

"My mother's lab!" Alpha responded, "I never confirmed her death, and she was never found. If the others never left, then she might still be in here somewhere!"

…

On sub-level twelve, they approached a closed door. The cameras on this level were functional, and they tracked their every move, making Tali feel uncomfortable. Alpha walked up to the door, undeterred. He pounded on the steel surface, saying nothing.

"Who's there!?" a woman's voice came in response, "Who the Hell comes knocking on my door when those monsters are about!?"

"Your son," Alpha called in response, "Can I come in?"

"You're just one of those damn clones!" the woman yelled, "You won't fool me!"

"Oh, really?" Alpha challenged, "I met one of those guys, and they don't seem like the knocking-on-the-door type; more the knocking-_down_-the-door type."

There was a moment of silence, then a quiet _click-hiss_ as the door unlocked and slowly slid open. Tali looked inside to see a woman who seemed almost frail, with grey hair, ghostly white skin, and an almost skeletal body. In her shaking hands, she held a ballistic M9 model pistol, pointing it at the man in the doorway. She looked Alpha over, as if deciding if he really was her son.

"Alpha," she greeted crisply.

"Mom," he responded simply.

"What did you do to your arm?" she said in an accusatory tone that only a mother could have.

Alpha shrugged, "I grew a new one. Old one got too unstable after I got shot in the head."

Alpha's mother waved them inside, "Alright, come in, quick! We can't wait around for them to show up!"

Inside the lab, there was a small stockpile of food and supplies. Alpha's mother sat a nest of terminals that were connected to the security cameras; she had been watching them on their way in. The door closed and locked behind them, while Alpha's mother went back to her terminals, watching the camera feeds intently.

Alpha sat on a medical table as Tali treated his facial wound. "Stop moving," Tali asked gently as he twitched reflexively away from the sting of the disinfectant, "I can't treat your wound if you keep squirming."

"I don't see why we need to disinfect it," Alpha complained, "My immune system is strong enough to fight off Tetanus like the common cold."

Tali cringed, as her own immune system was weak enough that such a cold could easily kill her. She knew that Alpha was not bragging, but it still stung to hear. "That grenade was from one of the crates," she explained, ignoring her emotions, "There's no telling what was on that shrapnel; we're better safe than sorry, I think, and I'd rather you not be fighting an infection while fighting those…"

"… Other test subjects," Alpha finished for her, tightening his grip on the edge of the table, "Like me, but it would seem that they never left."

"None of us did," his mother explained from her seat, "When you escaped, we were all sealed inside. The other subjects managed to make their way to ground level, but we never taught them that windows could be broken. I guess that's changed, now that you've shown them that little trick."

Tali shook her head, trying to make sense of it all. Alpha saw this, and launched into an explanation, "There were several of us, each named after a letter of the Greek alphabet. I was the first, so I was named Alpha. I named a certain voice in my head 'Omega,' since we never had one, and I figured that he might have been like that. Regardless, each one of us was trained to be super-soldiers of various talents and skillsets. I was… the most successful subject, and the only one to ever have seen the outside world before my escape. We're all dangerous, but I might venture to say that I'm the deadliest out of all surviving subjects. The others were born and bred, but I was built on a genetic level, artificially made to be the perfect soldier."

"Your… um, clone upstairs," Tali asked carefully, "He- _it_ said something about the Shadow Broker?"

This time, Alpha's mother explained, "I'm not surprised that Alpha never told you; he never knew. Hardly any of us did. Alpha, I'm not sure if you ever wondered where we got our funding from, but I'll tell you right now that it was him. The Shadow Broker wanted an army of unstoppable cybernetic soldiers, so he hired 'the boss' to find the best minds who were willing to work for such a thing. The problem was that we were told you would be peacekeepers, not a private army."

Alpha shook his head, "This... makes sense, in a weird way. The Shadow Broker wasn't the racist influence, it was that tub of a boss that managed us. He probably planned to betray the Shadow Broker and use us for his own ends, but I killed him before he could."

"I suspect that you're right, Alpha," his mother agreed. There was a pause as the three of them absorbed all of this new information, then she spoke up again, "So, you said that you got shot in the head? How did you survive that?"

"Yup," Alpha said, pointing to the scar on his forehead, "Killed me for a bit, actually. Destroyed my pathological inhibitor, so I'm finally a _real boy_," he raised his voice for the last two words, making his mother laugh while Tali was left confused. Alpha turned to her, explaining softly, "Old human tale called _Pinnochio_. You can look it up when we get back."

"_If we get back_," Tali thought to herself as she looked at the camera screens, seeing several subjects marching toward the lab. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

**A/N: And here it is, chapter five! If you have any unanswered questions about the story so far, make sure to leave a review or PM me and I'll make sure you get your answer in the following chapters!**

**I would like to note that the events in this chapter did happen very quickly; ambushes and the like are very quick, and this is primarily setup for the next chapter. Answers to questions about WhiteMask, the Shadow Broker, and the Alpha clones will be in the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned and leave a review to tell me how you like the story thus far!**


	6. Revelations

**Disclaimer: There are colorful, somewhat vivid descriptions of violent scenes in this chapter; more so than usual, that is. Read at your own discretion.**

_{2174}_

_{WhiteMask Facility}_

Walking slowly back to my cell, I look down at myself to check my wounds from the last training match with my fellow subjects. My metal arm is already reconstructing the minor damage that it took during the fight, and my body is covered in blood and bruises that I know will take much longer to heal.

My self-analysis is cut short abruptly as an unknown assailant grabs me by the head, quickly slamming it into the wall. My ears ring painfully as I fight to remain conscious, and I stumble forward while trying to stay upright. I turn around to see Samurai staring me down, his face twisted into a knot of a sneer.

"Pay better attention to your surroundings, subject Alpha," he says, "I could have killed you easily."

"But you are being paid not to," I reason, "And therefore I am safe."

His expression turns to that of what I have learned to identify as anger, and this notion is only reinforced as he lunges forward, grabbing me by the neck and pinning me to the wall, drawing his sword and holding the point to my abdomen, "Don't get cocky with me, kid. I can kill you anytime I want, and the boss won't care a bit. You think you're the only one like you that we have?"

"I am no more expendable than the others," I continue to use reason, "You would be executed."

He drops me with a grunt, "Your old man's making you soft, you little shit. Trying to talk your way out of trouble instead of fighting is how you get yourself killed."

Without a word, I swing my left arm at him. Just as I suspect, he moves his blade to counter. I grab the sharpened steel with my titanium hand, then punch him in the face with my right. Without stopping, I flip over his head while grabbing his neck to raise myself up and over, dropping down behind him and slamming him down onto the floor, pulling his weapon from his hand and shifting my hand to the grip.

I stand upright, pointing his own sword at him, "I believe the human term for this situation is 'be careful what you wish for.'"

Just then, I sense motion from my right flank. I turn swiftly to face my new opponent, seeing Beta leaping at me with her knives drawn. In the ring, they do not let me use weapons anymore since I acquired my new arm, but now I wield a katana. I swipe deftly at her as she nears, dodging sideways as my blade cuts into her leg. From behind, I sense another presence.

I turn into a high kick, but Gamma ducks below and grabs my leg, seeking to either hold it in place or lift it higher than my limited flexibility will allow. I do not give him a chance to do either, as I hop into the air with my grounded leg while pulling myself towards him with my other. I slash at his arm while twisting to kick his shoulder, a devastating double-attack that he is hopeless to dodge. The katana digs into his forearm, forcing him to release me while my kick sends him to the ground.

At the sound of running footsteps, I turn again to see Delta charging me, and I have no time to react as he tackles me into a wall, pinning me in place as he begins to punch me repeatedly. I manage to headbutt him off between his punches, staggering away as I gather my bearings.

Before I can reorient myself, Epsilon grabs me with both hands and delivers a powerful electric shock. It is enough to kill a normal human, but instead of dying, I am subjected to pain like no other as my nervous system begins to overload and I am burning from the inside. I collapse, fighting harder than ever to maintain consciousness as I am flipped over onto my back by Samurai, who has reclaimed his blade and now points it at me in mockery.

Before he says anything, I flip backward while kicking his sword from his hands, not ready to surrender so long as I am still conscious. I catch the blade somewhat clumsily as I stumble onto my feet, my muscles weakened by Epsilon's attack. I hold the blade defensively as I use this moment to plan my next move. Only one thought comes to me as my conditioning takes over: _kill._

The burning sensation that I have come to know as rage roars from within me, and I let that roar leave my lungs in a furious war cry, my tactical combat suite mapping the most efficient route of killing all of my opponents. I charge forward, forgetting that I am already severely damaged.

I slash ferociously at the five of them, making wide sweeps and arcs while also taking quick stabs and slashes. The battle blurs into a mess of blood and screams of pain as I mindlessly try to kill everyone in sight. The last thing that I coherently see is a guard, the barrel of his gun, and the muzzle flash as he fires directly into my chest. Then everything goes black.

* * *

"Keelah," Tali gaped as Alpha finished his recounting, "You spent five years living like that?"

Alpha shrugged. "Hey!" his mother said as she installed a new implant in his side, "Stop moving so much! I don't want to damage the hardware here!"

"I'm flattered that you care so much about your own son and not the machines inside him," Alpha said sarcastically. He sighed quietly as he looked back at Tali. "Pretty much," he mouthed, tilting his head toward his mother.

"That must have been horrible," Tali said sympathetically.

"It wasn't like that _all_ the time," Alpha admitted, "but it was most of the time. Each of us was designed for a different role, each with a different set of skills and strengths. Beta was the assassin, Gamma the close-quarters specialist, Delta the enforcer, and Epsilon the tactician and leader."

"What about you?"

"I was the prototype. I had and have a little of everything, I guess. Though I suppose that I've been a bit of a combat engineer for the last few years, with some new infiltrator training of late."

"There!" his mother cut him off, standing back as she admired her handiwork, "The new sound module is installed! My stitching skills might have deteriorated over the years, but it'll hold up fine. Plus, your body heals fast and hardly scars anyway!"

Alpha chuckled, feeling the area of his side gingerly with his hand. It felt odd, having a new implant in there, but it was not so bad that he would not be able to get used to it. He turned to his mother, "So what does this new toy do?"

"It utilizes soundwaves to allow you to manipulate objects," she explained proudly, "It may not give you biotic powers, but this is the next best thing!"

Alpha looked down at his hands, "Can I give it a shot in here?"

"Yes!" his mother said eagerly, "Try to move those boxes over there!"

Alpha stood, pulling his shirt back down and donning his torso armor. He turned to the stack of boxes in the corner, raising his hands toward them and using his new implant like a muscle, sending soundwaves out to move the containers. For a moment, nothing happened but for an almost inaudible hum.

"Maybe you need to apply more force?" Tali suggested.

"More force, you say?" Alpha said, looking over at her with a glint in his eye. He grinned mischievously before throwing a huge shockwave forward with a pushing motion of his hands, sending the boxes flying into the wall. Alpha looked down at his hands again, already imagining the possibilities of what this new power would allow him to do.

"How do you feel?" his mother questioned excitedly.

He looked at Tali, then to his mother, "Like I could take down each one of those bastards at once, all on my own."

With that, Alpha, Tali, and Lucky left the room to hunt down his clones. His mother bid them farewell, and reminded them that she had security access across the facility; she would be watching their progress and helping spot targets.

"Your mother is… a strange woman," Tali said somewhat distastefully.

"She has her flaws, sure," Alpha defended his mother, "but doesn't everyone?"

"She thought you were dead, and when you literally come knocking on her door, all she does is ask about your _arm!?"_ Tali fumed, "When I thought you died, I cried for hours on end! When I knew you had come back, it was the happiest moment of my life! And when you told her about your _actual death_, she hardly thought anything of it!"

"Well, neither do I," Alpha shrugged, "People die all the time. My line of work is especially dangerous."

"But what if you die again, and this time you're gone for good!?" she demanded, growing agitated at his indifference, "What if I lose you forever!?"

"You won't," he said dismissively, "I'm harder to get rid of than that." Suddenly he stopped, cocking his head slightly as a thought hit him. "Uh, Tali?" he asked, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tali said, annoyed, "I don't hear anything!"

"Are you sure?" At first, Tali thought that Alpha was just making fun of her, but when she looked at his face, he looked genuinely confused, maybe even a little worried. "Because I hear something, kinda like white noise? Hold on-" he looked around, "Nope. This area's security coverage is gone; it can't be from that."

"Maybe it's that new implant?" Tali asked, bringing up her omni-tool to scan the module, "It's based on sound, after all."

After a moment of scanning, Tali's eyes widened. Seeing this, Alpha grew anxious, "What is it?"

"There's something off about this," Tali said suspiciously, "It's emitting sounds at a volume that only you can hear, at a frequency that would be almost impossible to notice."

"Strange," Alpha said, "It's gone now. Did you do something?"

Tali shook her head, "No. And according to this, It's still going. Hold on, I think I can fix it…" she tapped a few buttons on her omni-tool, and checked her readings again, "There. Whatever that was, it's gone now."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Tali," Alpha said softly, and Tali looked up to see him smiling gently. For a moment, they stood looking at each other in silence. Tali started to feel regret at getting angry with him just minutes ago; he was confident in himself, but he still wanted her companionship, regardless of whether or not he needed it.

"Sorry for snapping at you," Tali said sheepishly as she broke eye contact, blushing beneath her mask from embarrassment.

"It's alright," he said comfortingly, grabbing her hand, "I'm sorry for brushing you off like that. You know what?" He looked around for a moment before finding a doorway into what appeared to be a storage room. He closed the door behind them, letting Lucky in to ensure his safety.

"Alpha, what is this all about?" Tali asked nervously.

"I wanted to tell you something," Alpha said, "Something I've never told anyone before." Tali felt a rush of endorphins as her hopes surged. If her hopes were right, then this was not at all the right place for this, but she wasn't going to complain.

"I'm always so dismissive about my death," Alpha said, making Tali's heart sink, not only because her hopes were wrong but because Alpha seemed saddened as well, "Because I'm scared. Scared of the exact thing you brought up; dying and not getting another chance. Talking about it makes me think about that, and reminds me that I'm not who I used to be."

Tali squeezed his hand, "You're right. You're better. An upgrade from who you used to be."

Alpha smiled. For a moment, time seemed to stop as Tali fully appreciated that smile, something that, at one time, she thought she would never see. It told her that, if he loved her, then he would do so at a capacity that he could never have achieved without her. Alpha had been through Hell countless times, even literally once, and yet somehow he managed to find reasons to smile. Tali was thankful to be one of those reasons.

While his news may not have been what she wanted, it was still an act of great trust for Alpha, and Tali appreciated it. "Why the storage room?" she asked semi-jokingly, lightening the mood.

"No security cameras or recorders."

"I thought you said that this area had no functioning security systems?" Tali asked suspiciously.

As he released her hand and opened the door, he winked, "I know how to make sure a private moment with a woman is actually private. Better in here, where we can't get jumped, than in the hall."

Tali blushed again, not because of embarrassment, but because her heart was racing and her blood pressure had elevated. "_Oh my GOD,_" Omega said in her mind, "_That was the perfect opportunity to tell him! And, unless I am totally blind, that was very clearly flirting just then!_"

"_I know_," Tali responded mentally, "_I just don't want to put that kind of pressure on him right now. I want to wait until our lives aren't at risk, then take it slow, okay?_"

"_You keep telling yourself that_," Omega scoffed, "_Seriously, when are your lives not in danger? You're stalling, Tali. There's no way that he's going to figure out how you feel unless you tell him somehow._"

"_I will,_" she stated, "_Just not yet._"

"_Don't wait too long. I'm sure you're not the only girl who wants to be 'the one' for Alpha._"

"_And maybe it isn't me_," Tali sighed inwardly, "_I mean, he would probably want someone more like him: a confident, courageous soldier. I'm just some _quarian_ engineer that he picked up on the Citadel half a year ago. He loved me then because no one else loved him. Now, though? He'll have so many other more interesting people to choose from. Plus, he might not have been flirting, since Atlas said that he sometimes doesn't understand the difference between romantic and friendly._"

…

"_Really?_" Amala teased from within Alpha's mind, "_That's what you call flirting? She probably thinks you're some sort of man-whore._"

"_Shut up,_" Alpha thought sternly, trying to focus on scanning the hallway as they continued forward, "_If she wants to know, she'll ask. She knows that I can't be fazed by a simple question, no matter how awkward._"

"_She's just taking pity on you, you know,_" Amala pushed, "_Trying to make you feel better about being dead. There's no way she'd ever choose you over almost anyone else!_"

"_This, coming from the dead woman who tried to 'show her love' for me by drugging, binding, and raping me while Tali was forced to watch. Forgive me if I don't exactly take your relationship advice to heart._"

"_There's no way she'd take you._"

"_I KNOW!_" Alpha shouted mentally, taking a moment to ensure that he did not make any outward reaction, "_You think that I believe I have any chance at all with a woman like her? She's kind, caring, selfless, and clever. She's more than just some goddamn killing machine, unlike me. She was the first girl to ever take interest in me as a person. She was different from my other friends; she pried, she questioned what I said about myself, she refused to accept that I was just some machine in an organic body. And you know what? She was right._"

"Doesn't mean she loves you."

"_Only an idiot would think it does,_" Alpha agreed, taking a glance at Tali beside him, "_But it means that she cares. Enough to cry for hours on end when I died; I saw the footage to prove it after I woke up. There's no way I'm good enough to deserve her, but I have to try._"

His thoughts were interrupted as one of his clones leapt out into the hallway. For a moment, they froze as Tali and Alpha had to process once again that they would be fighting versions of himself. The clone did not hesitate to use this moment to attack, charging forward while readying a haymaker punch.

Alpha reacted quickly, drawing one of his pistols and firing from the hip, landing a shot square in his clone's forehead. The clone pitched forward, dead before it even hit the ground. Alpha's eyes widened, "I'm… not that easy to kill, am I?" Then he sighed, "Wait, yes I am; that's how I _actually_ died, isn't it? Fuck."

"It had no shields," Tali pointed out, trying to change the subject, "Either that or those guns are more powerful than I thought."

"No," Alpha confirmed, switching to an analytical mindset, "We would have seen them overload if that happened. I guess I have something on them, then."

"Something _more_ on them, you mean," Tali corrected him, "You have the mind of a human now, and a _lot_ more implants." Alpha smiled at this before continuing.

It was not long before they came across a small arena-like room. Alpha slowed to a stop as he surveyed the room, reliving memories. "This is where they had us fight each other," he said absently, "Every day, without exception, they would take me here to fight one of the others. They cycled through them, pitting me against a different kid every day. There were others; lesser subjects that they didn't have me fight, but I still did other training exercises with. They were considered expendable; Samurai killed them on a weekly basis."

"Yes," an old voice called from the far door, "And now I get to kill the last little brat on my list!"

Tali did not recognize the man standing in the doorway, but Alpha immediately went for his rifle as he saw the distinctive armor, resembling that of an ancient samurai of feudal Japan. He was older, with scars all over his face, but he was unmistakable. "Samurai!" Alpha shouted, firing off a three-round burst aimed for center mass. The shots never reached their target, though, as the blast door closed too quickly for the bullets to slip past.

In seconds, the room's lights came on to reveal an emerging virtual platoon of Alpha clones. "Alpha," Tali whispered as the two of them backed up against the wall with Lucky, "What do we do?"

Alpha was silent for a moment as he counted the number of enemies in the room. "Stay here," he said quietly, "They can't flank you with your back to the wall. Lucky will help you."

"What about you?" Tali asked, drawing her shotgun as the horde began closing in.

"I'm going to do what I do best," Alpha responded evenly, feeling adrenaline surge through his body, "Kill."

With that, he sprinted directly at the oncoming group of clones. They charged in kind, but Alpha was ready for such a move. He fired as he ran, killing several of his clones before meeting them with a shoulder charge. Alpha flipped up and over the first clone, using his knife to stab its neck and swing himself back down. Raising his hand, he blew the nearest few clones away with a shockwave. "_These things die way too easily,_" he thought to himself as he swung his rifle in a wide arc, killing several more.

"Did you really think that you were the only one of you that we had?" Samurai taunted over the loudspeaker, "These bastards are all of the failed attempts we had before you came around. Your old man was a smart one, but even he couldn't get it right on his first try. Or his fiftieth, for that matter!"

"How are you even alive, you old son of a bitch!?" Alpha demanded as he snapped a clone's neck, "I hit you with enough volts to melt your armor to your ugly body!"

"I admit that my armor has become an unfortunate skin graft," the old mercenary said slowly, as if savoring the moment, "And I am certainly not unscathed, but you don't go into my line of work without getting resilient. It takes more than an electric shock to get rid of me."

Alpha crushed another clone's skull with his bat, "So you picked up the boss's work and kept trying to make an army of super-soldiers?"

Sam, as Alpha liked to call him, laughed, "Not without being paid! The Shadow Broker doesn't get VEINS lab coats to become turncoats, then throw it all away on some failed experiment! And unlike that old tub of an agent, I plan on sticking to my contract until I get paid. Whatever the Shadow Broker wants to do with you freaks, it's not my concern."

Alpha decapitated the final clone with a strong slash of his large combat knife. He took a quick look around to assess the current situation. He was covered in blood, just like the room around him. Tali stood against the far wall with a few bodies at her feet, but was relatively clean.

The door opened, and Beta, Gamma, and Epsilon entered, stone-faced and armed. Alpha instinctively took a step back, flashbacks of when they would gang up on him in his youth shooting through his mind.

"He is frightened," Beta said coldly.

"He should be," Epsilon added, his voice just as emotionless.

Tali put a hand on his shoulder. He had not noticed her approach. "This isn't seven years ago, Alpha. You're better than you were back then. We can take them on together."

"No, you can't," Sam interrupted, "You're no use to us if you kill the others, I'm afraid."

"Wait," Alpha froze, "Who's 'us!?'"

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Sam said sadistically, "Your old man may have been disloyal, but your mom certainly wasn't!"

"I'm sorry, Alpha," his mother's voice accompanied Sam's, "The Shadow Broker is not a man to betray."

"Neither is your own son!" Tali blurted out furiously, "Especially _your_ son!"

"He's not even my son!" the old woman said bitterly, "He's an amalgamation of my husband's DNA and that of that son of a bitch who calls himself The Founder! He contacted my husband and convinced him to act as a saboteur, even going so far as to replace my DNA with his own for the _thing_ you see before you! He-" her voice became an angry hiss, "he's not even _human__!_ But now I can correct my mistake! Subject Alpha will now be reclaimed!"

There was a pause, and Alpha felt something itch in his side. A wave of confusion and mixed emotions hit him suddenly, and he stumbled slightly as a cocktail of different hormones flooded his brain. Distantly, he heard his mother scream, "What did you do, you quarian witch!? What did you do to my module!?"

"First off," Tali said, keeping her terror from her voice as she stepped to Alpha's side, "It's Night Witch, not Quarian Witch. Second, it would seem that I reverse-sabotaged your little device to ensure that you aren't able to do whatever it is you were planning." She pulled out her omni-tool, quickly scanning Alpha and punching in codes to adjust his hormone levels through his implants. She then killed the current protocol on the sound module, virtually destroying its secondary function with a wave of her hand.

Before she could permanently disable the hidden hardware, though, Alpha's mother shrieked, "Activating killswitch!" Alpha lurched, then started screaming in pain and rage as the device attempted to overload his brain in an artificially-induced super-seizure. However, due to Tali's disabling of most of its hormone controls, the device only managed to send impossibly strong signals of physical and mental trauma. This, mixed with Alpha's anger against his mother for her betrayal, caused him agony greater than anything he had ever felt.

The other subjects began to advance. Tali turned to face them, raising her shotgun and firing quickly. As she had expected, the brainwashed fighters dodged her shot easily. Epsilon hit her with a powerful electric shock, causing her to spasm in pain as she screamed, her shotgun falling uselessly to the floor.

Beta closed the gap quickly, grabbing her and pinning her to the ground, readying her wicked knife to stab the quarian woman. Thinking quickly, Tali drew her revolver, pressing the barrel to the other woman's abdomen and squeezing the trigger. Beta jerked to a halt as the bullet passed through her body, the lights in her eyes quickly fading to black. Tali shoved her off as she fell limp, only to see Gamma standing over her, holding her shotgun.

"Game over," Gamma said monotonously.

Before he had a chance to use the gun, though, Alpha leapt up behind him. With a grunt of effort, he wrenched the other man's head back, forcing his fingers into his mouth to grab his lower jaw with one hand while doing the same to his upper jaw with the other. Gamma dropped the weapon as he struggled to escape the attack, but to no avail.

"New game," Alpha growled coldly as he pulled with both arms, separating Gamma's jaw from his skull and ripping the skin away traveling down his neck. Blood splattered across Alpha's face and body, spraying onto Tali and drenching the dead Gamma's clothing. Tali shuddered as Gamma's struggling abruptly stopped with this ripping move, his arms falling limp at his sides. Suddenly, Tali felt herself being picked up from behind. Inwardly, she wished that she wasn't always the one that needed rescuing as her hand was painfully shocked, making her drop her revolver.

Epsilon deftly caught the weapon with one hand, wringing her neck with his free arm and holding the gun to her head. Alpha whipped around to face them, weapon raised. "Drop your weapon," Epsilon ordered, "Or your quarian dies."

Tali looked at Alpha pleadingly, though she wasn't sure what he could do. Judging by Epsilon's voice, he wasn't even looking around her head, so there was probably no way for Alpha to shoot him without shooting through her. Alpha kept his rifle raised for a moment, then slowly lowered it to the floor, raising his hands open-palmed toward them to show that he was now unarmed.

"All of them," Epsilon said, and Alpha obeyed, unholstering both of his pistols, his .44 revolver, and sniper rifle and putting them on the floor. As he did so, Epsilon continued, "Personal attachments are a weakness, Alpha. Our creators constantly questioned who was the better tactician, but now there is an answer," he pushed the barrel of the pistol against Tali's helmet, "I don't use a _weakness_ in my tactics." As Alpha placed his final gun on the floor, Epsilon began slowly backing towards the door. Alpha raised his hands again, and Epsilon continued, "Now, you're going to-"

He was cut off by Lucky leaping at him from the side. Lucky had been seemingly forgotten after the Alpha clones had been killed, but he was certainly not out of the fight. Epsilon immediately shot the dog, who then fell to the ground, whimpering in pain. Then came a massive shockwave, produced by Alpha's open hands. The sound module, while partially disabled, still produced a sound wave powerful enough to send both Tali and Epsilon flying back against the wall, separating the two of them. Alpha snatched his knife from the sheath, having not dropped it, and hurled it at Epsilon's head.

The purple-eyed cybernetic's hand flew up to catch the weapon by the grip, the blade just inches from his face. Alpha had been counting on this, and was already sliding across the floor with his bat, wound up and ready to swing. He came to a halt just as he swung the weapon, the end connecting with the grip of the knife, sending it through Epsilon's skull and splitting it in half, his brain hemispheres perfectly separated as his cranial fluid spilled out onto the ground. Alpha picked his knife from his brother's head, then wiped the blade on the dead man's shirt before fitting it back into the sheath.

Tali rose to her feet, disoriented from the blast. As she stood, she suddenly twitched in pain and shifted her weight to one leg. As Alpha approached her, she whirled around angrily, "What was _that!?"_

Alpha was taken aback slightly, still coming down from his combat high, "Saving your life. There was no opening to get at him, so I had to create one."

"By throwing me against a _wall__!?"_ Tali raged, screaming in his face, "What kind of plan is that!?"

"I couldn't risk him hurting you," Alpha said, stepping back, "I had to take action."

_"You_ hurt me!" Tali roared, pointing at her leg, "I sprained my ankle in that fall, and my suit is telling me that my wrist hurts so much because it's _fractured__!"_ Alpha subconsciously noted that she was using her right hand to gesture, while she kept her left cradled against her chest.

Consciously, Alpha stopped entirely. He had figured that Tali might suffer a few bruises, but instead, he had caused serious injury. "I- I'm sorry, Tali. I didn't mean to-"

"Let's just get out of here," Tali cut him off, retrieving her weapons. Alpha did the same, but he was also trying to process what he had done. He had hurt her. Amala was going to ensure that he would never live this down.

Lucky limped over, having been shot in his mechanical leg and grazed near his ribs. Alpha holstered his weapons, then led the way back to the stairwell. Of course, their escape could not be so simple. When they came across his mother's lab, Alpha went in for reasons that he did not entirely know; part of him wanted to kill her, while part of him just wanted to say goodbye one last time.

Regardless, the lab was empty, and no sooner had they entered than the door slammed shut behind them, sealing and locking into place. She had trapped them in here. Alpha snapped out of his trance, switching to survival mode as he leapt to a terminal. He began issuing orders, telling Tali to get to a terminal of her own to try to lift the locking mechanism.

After a moment, Tali moved away from the terminal and over to Alpha. "Alpha," she began.

"Maybe if I try the backdoor through the log recording system…" he cut her off, focusing on the task before him.

"Alpha," Tali tried again, more insistently.

Again, Alpha did not hear her, "No, of course she closed that. Maybe if I try a different angle…"

"Alpha!" Tali practically shouted, finally getting his attention.

He turned to face her, "Not right now, Tali. I need to get us out of here."

"That's obviously not working!" Tali said, slightly annoyed.

"It's the only option we have," Alpha insisted, turning back to his work.

"Will you stop ignoring me!?" Tali cried, finally cracking, "I'm trying to talk to you-"

This time she was cut off by the door opening. From the hallway entered Sam and Alpha's mother, who once again held her 9mm pistol, leveling it at them while Samurai had his sword drawn.

Alpha reacted instantly, whipping around and drawing his own revolver, firing from the hip and fanning the hammer into Sam's chest, killing him quickly with six shots. His mother responded by shooting him five times in the leg, the first four bouncing off of his shields and the fifth digging into his knee. Alpha gave a cry of pain as he fell back, clutching the wound.

"You ruined everything!" she cried, turning to Tali, "You took my life's work away! You turned him against me!"

"Come with us," Alpha pleaded, "We can protect you!"

"Shut up!" she screamed, shooting him again in the same knee, "No one can protect me from the Shadow Broker, especially not a bastard child!"

Tali drew her weapon, "Then stay here and rot. But we're getting out of here, you crazy bitch!"

She turned back to Tali, not backing down, "No! You're both going to die here, and your stupid dog, too!" She slowly squeezed the trigger, visibly savoring the moment.

"No!" Alpha, in a signature surge of will, flipped over to face toward his mother, stomach-down. His booster-fins extended and he shot forward, grabbing Sam's dropped sword and twisting to slash at his mother's Achilles tendon. She fell to her knees, her shot going into the ceiling as Alpha twisted to his feet, grabbing her by the shoulder and holding the point of the blade to her back.

"He will turn those you love against you," she said desperately, "Just like he did my husband! The Founder will betray you, and you won't know it until it's too late!" She pointed at Tali, "She will be the first to turn against you!"

She tried to raise her pistol one last time, a desperate attempt at the realization that Alpha was going to stand his ground. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he slipped the katana through her ribs, piercing her heart and ripping it out of place. The blade came jutting out of her chest, coated in blood. With that, this mother fell to the ground limply.

Alpha fell to his knees beside her, shaking uncontrollably before bursting into tears. "No!" he shouted to no one, clutching his mother's body. "Why!? Why!?" he screamed again and again, "Why-y-y!? Dammit, damn it all to Hell!" Tali moved silently to him, standing over him in silent remorse. "Damn my blood," Alpha shrieked hysterically, "Damn my mind! Why can't I do anything but hurt people!? Why can't it all just end!? Why can't the death, the suffering just stop!? _Why can't I just die!?_"

Tali felt her heart ache for him as he wailed the last sentence at the top of his lungs, falling silent as he breathed heavily, drawing back from his mother's corpse and returning to a kneeling position. She could tell that he was going into shock, his mind trying to protect him by numbing his consciousness. Tali placed a hand on his shoulder, "Let's go home."

Alpha nodded slowly, rising to his feet and walking after her as she exited through the door. She winced every time he took a step with his right leg, as the shattered knee bones ground together with every step. Tali knew that he was probably going into shock, both physical and mental, but it didn't change the fact that this would only make the injury worse. Due to Alpha's current condition, Tali ended up taking point with her shotgun. This ended up being a good decision, as there was a point in the stairwell where a singular clone tried to jump them.

The clone leapt at them from the stairs of the next level up, and Tali dodged out of the way, wincing in pain as she was forced to put pressure on her sprained ankle. Now, though, the clone was between her and the real Alpha, so she could not afford to use her shotgun for fear of hitting him. However, the clone seemed far more interested in attacking her as it turned and leapt at her again, pushing her back against the wall. Tali kicked with her strong quarian legs, sending the clone back over the railing. She moved to the railing, drawing her revolver and taking aim downward, figuring that it had more effective range than her shotgun. She spotted the clone toward the bottom of the stairwell, still moving. She shot it once and its writhing ceased permanently.

She looked back at Alpha, who was staring off into the distance. "_Keelah_," she thought to herself, "_He's hardly even there anymore._"

As they reached the ground floor, Tali made contact with the _Midnight__,_ "This is Tali'Zorah to _Midnight__,_ requesting an emergency extraction at my coordinates."

Almost immediately, the voice of Kal'Reegar responded, "Roger that, Ma'am. TactiCon team is mobilizing for pickup, ETA five minutes. We'll do it in three."

She looked back at Alpha, "And bring a blanket. I'll explain when you arrive."

Suddenly, Lucky started growling at something ahead of them. Tail raised her shotgun, scanning the darkened hallway. It was clearly night outside, but her quarian eyes were good for seeing in the dark. There, at the end of the hall, she could make out a shadowy figure like the one that had lured them into this Hell. It seemed to be looking back at her, standing motionless as if trying to remain unseen.

"We haven't encountered anything good in this place," Tali muttered, "I'm not taking chances." She fired the shotgun, Alpha's customizations sounding and feeling true in the gun kicked back into her shoulder, her left wrist protesting painfully as it moved to compensate. The figure moved away into a nearby room, avoiding the blast. Tali led Alpha and Lucky to a window, which she promptly blasted out with another shot. Outside, it was dark, cold, and raining.

Alpha shivered in the cold, the water kept off of him by his mostly-intact armor. After a moment's wait, the telltale rumble of ion engines could be heard on approach, before the dropship's lights appeared over the tree line.

Just then, Tali heard Alpha grunt in pain and the sound of choking. She turned quickly to see Alpha pinned to the ground by a man wearing a familiar suit of scale-like armor. Tali gasped as she recognized the Galahad armor, the wearer overpowering the weakened Alpha.

"Get off of him!" Tali shouted, firing her revolver to spare her left wrist. The bullets bounced off harmlessly, but she got the wearer's attention for a moment, as he paused his strangling of Alpha.

Before the wearer could speak, the roar of a heavy machine gun drowned out all noise and the assailant was pounded with heavy weapons fire, something that even the Galahad suit could not hold up against for long. Wordlessly, the armored man activated some sort of cloaking mechanism and disappeared. But the message had been made clear, and Alpha gasped for air as his now invisible attacker fled.

The dropship landed, the Tactical Reconnaissance team leaping down to secure the area, assault rifles and heavy SMGs raised and scanning. Kal'Reegar approached along with Richard, the latter carrying a blanket. "Got here as fast as we could, Ma'am," Kal said crisply, "Brought that blanket you asked for, but it looks like whoever that was got away."

Tali thanked him, taking the sheet from Richard and draping it over Alpha's shoulders as she led him to the VTOL. Seated just inside the doorway was a quarian with a rocket launcher, watching the area intently with his weapon to his shoulder. "Rocky," Tali greeted quickly as she sat down with Alpha.

"Tali," Rocky nodded back, not removing his eyes from the field, "Good to see you again, though I wish it was under better conditions."

As the team boarded the gunship, a turian marine snarled, "We can't just let that guy get away! Why don't we take a set of wheels and take the fight to him!?"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, soldier," Richard said evenly, "but right now we need to get the Captain back to the ship. Normally, I think all of us would agree, him included, but not with the condition he's in. There'll be time to track him down later."

Tali spotted a couple of soldiers staying behind to retrieve the horses, both of them riding back toward the _Midnight_ at a full gallop before the dropship took off. They flew back in a tense silence, Tali sitting uncomfortably next to Alpha, who just stared at the floor.

Back aboard the cruiser, Tali and Alpha were taken to the medical wing to have their wounds treated. Tali insisted that Alpha be treated first, though she knew that he would want her to go first. However, he was in no condition to argue with her as he was laid out on a medical table and his knee was examined. After half an hour, Alpha was led up to his quarters with Richard as an escort, his knee in a cast and his face still empty.

Tali's treatment was even faster, the doctor wrapping her ankle and bracing her wrist in a matter of minutes. "How is he?" Tali asked hopefully as the doctor tended to her brace.

The woman looked up at her, pausing in her work, "Physically, he should heal nicely; he's Alpha. I've worked with him many times before, and I know what his body is capable of. He heals like a krogan. But mentally? I don't know; I'm no psychologist." She finished her work, stepping back, "There. If it starts hurting too much, you come see me. Try to keep the pressure off of your injuries, and I trust you're intelligent enough to figure out the rest."

Tali thanked the doctor, then left to go sleep in the crew quarters. Just as she was about to open the door, however, she thought about Alpha, sleeping alone in his deathly silent cabin with nothing but his own thoughts to accompany him. Thoughts that were no doubt extremely disturbed after the ordeal that had been today. She went to the elevator, limping as she hurried along, not wanting to waste time.

Tali prayed that she still had access to his cabin, and her prayers were answered as the door opened to reveal an empty room. Tali stepped in, listening for any sound. She heard running water, and immediately headed through the door to the right to access the gym and bathroom. Sure enough, Alpha was standing over the sink, staring blankly into the mirror as the water ran forgotten from the faucet.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, then gasped as she felt herself being pulled into a different reality, like a dream. Tali blinked, realizing that she was still standing next to Alpha in the bathroom. She saw Omega standing nearby, and she gave him a questioning look.

"I gave you the protocols to access his implants back in that base," Omega said, "And now I'm giving you a look inside his head. Don't worry; he can't see us."

"So, what do you think she sees you as now?" A female voice said mockingly, "She's probably filing a request to be dropped off at the next port as we speak." Tali looked over to see a face she thought she would never see again: Amala.

"I know," Alpha croaked, "She hates me. I- I killed my mom, I…" he shook his head, "I should never have tried to come back into her life again. I would have been better off never seeing her again, loving her from a distance. _She_ would have been better off never knowing that I was back."

"Look at you," Amala said distastefully, "Abandoning yourself, risking life and limb, and for what? Some girl in Engineering who's never even so much as held your hand? And where is she now, in your time of crisis? Not here, I assure you!"

"Alpha," Tali breathed, "You… love someone else?"

Alpha didn't hear her, just like Omega had said. She could almost hear that holographic man saying "I told you so," though, in reality, he was silent, watching grimly as Alpha let himself be ripped apart by a figment of his own imagination. Tali fought back tears as she stepped back, trying to keep listening.

"I love her!" Alpha cried weakly, "I love her, and she doesn't even know!"

"You've never even seen her face!" Amala snapped, causing Tali to freeze. Her heart fought for even a glimmer of hope, though she knew that he _had_ seen her face before. Then she remembered: Alpha had no memory of that! To him, her face was still a mystery, and therefore there was a chance…

"I would give my life for one look," Alpha murmured, "Just a single glimpse. The beauty underneath that visor is something that my mind cannot even begin to imagine. A woman that caring, that smart, that _perfect__…"_ he trailed off, and Tali thought she saw a ghost of a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Tali's heart both fluttered and sank; he was certainly talking about a quarian, though she had noted even on her time aboard that there were many quarians in the crew. Still, she held onto hope that he might be referring to her. At the same time, if he _was_ talking about her, she had never had any idea that he saw her like that. She had flaws, too, but he refused to let them taint her better traits.

"_Just like how I looked at him when we first met,_" Tali thought longingly, "_Just like I do now._" She stepped forward again, "Alpha, please come back to me…"

Once again, he did not hear her. Alpha shook his head, " She doesn't deserve me. She deserves better than me; far better than me. I don't deserve her. I deserve no embrace but that of death."

"Alpha!" Tali cried, "Don't say that!"

"She would never love you," Amala said poisonously, "Not even close."

"Yes…" Alpha rasped, his voice showing the damage of prolonged sobbing.

"No!" Tali screamed, grabbing at Alpha but meeting only empty air; this wasn't reality, this was in his mind.

"She _hates_ you now, and you know it."

"She hates me…" Alpha said, peering over at a pistol on the counter.

"Alpha, stop!" Tali cried, trying desperately to be heard.

"No one would ever love you," Amala said, her face becoming twisted and wicked, "Only I ever loved you, and you killed me. A woman like her would never love a killing machine like you. All you've ever been able to do is hurt and kill people, even yourself."

"No one would ever love me," Alpha agreed, grabbing the gun, "Death is all that I deserve."

"NO!" Tali wailed, "That's not true! It's not true!"

Alpha suddenly stopped, as if listening to something. "Not true…" he whispered, his voice barely audible, "How?"

Tali swallowed hard. It was now or never. "Because," she stammered hoarsely, "Because I love you." With that, everything came flooding out. Tali told him about how she admired his bravery in battle, how she loved his undying and ferocious loyalty, that she almost enjoyed watching him rip his enemies apart since it always reminded her that he would stop at nothing to protect her.

She gushed forth, confessing that she adored his technical know-how, and his ability to remain humble despite possessing such unnatural powers as his cybernetics granted. She even loved his cybernetics, and she admitted that she had, at the very beginning, been mainly interested in him as a technological wonder. But she had soon looked past that, her fascination newly captured by the man in the body, and she had wanted to know him as a person.

She described how her fascination had turned to passion, and how with each act of selflessness toward her, she had only grown more adoring of him. She had wanted desperately to help him, to free him of his brainwashing shackles, to give him true life. She had wanted him to see her anew when she would restore his humanity, to see her as more than just a friend or comrade. She had wanted to prove to him that she was good enough for him.

Tali began to cry as she told about how she had never told him how she felt because she had been too scared that she was not good enough. He was a superhuman soldier, engineer, and leader, while she was just some suit-rat he had picked up out of a back alley. She thought that she was not strong enough, not brave enough for him. She was afraid that he would hate her like he did that nurse Atlas had told her about, that he would turn her away because she was trapped in her suit.

Trapped in her suit, just like she had been trapped in an endless cycle of failure and misery until she had met him. Tali had been trapped by fear, by angst, by a self-doubt complex of her own making. Trapped by indecision seven months ago, trapped by loss after he had died, and trapped by fear of failure now that he was back. When he had come back to her, she had never been happier than when she had seen that he could truly _feel__,_ but she had still been scared that he would find someone better than her.

She even told of how she loved his new eyes; a symbol, a constant reminder that he was better than he had ever been, a reminder that he could love, and love _her__._ She wanted so badly for him to love her, but she had no idea how to win him over. She had just followed her instincts and acted like herself, knowing that Alpha appreciated honesty and loyalty more than almost anything else. She loved his new fins, his new cybernetics, everything about him and more.

"I love you, Alpha Black!" Tali cried at the top of her lungs, "Keelah, I love you! I love you! I love you more than anything!"

"But…" he whispered, his eyes wide and confused, "You could have someone else. Someone better…"

"I don't _want_ someone else, bosh'tet!" Tali screamed desperately, "There isn't anyone better! Out of a galaxy full of beautiful women, all of which would take you in an instant, you chose to love me! I can't think of anyone else who would ever do that for me! I want _you__,_ no matter what anyone says!"

And suddenly, she was back in reality, standing with her hand on his shoulder. Alpha was actually _holding the gun_, but he almost immediately ejected the magazine and racked the slide, emptying it completely and dropping it.

_"No!__"_ Tali could hear Amala hiss, "_You're deluding yourself! She would never love you! How can you believe any of this!?_"

"Because I trust Tali," he croaked, turning to her and stepping closer, pressing up against her as he whispered, "I trust you, Tali, I-I l-" he choked, tears coming to his eyes.

"Don't say anything," Tali said soothingly, already crying, "I know. I know it's hard to say. I don't need to hear it; I can feel it."

Alpha looked down, then his eyes widened. He jerked back, particularly getting his crotch away, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! It's an involuntary reaction-"

"Oh, shut up, you bosh'tet," Tali sighed, smiling as she pulled herself to him, "That's not what I meant, though it was a helpful clue. I meant that I can feel it from your actions," she glanced down between his legs, then back up at his face, "your _voluntary_ actions. Now shut up and hold me."

And hold her he did. They held each other tightly for minutes, hours, it didn't matter. Eventually, they moved to the bedroom, where Alpha admitted that he needed to take a shower. Reluctantly, Tali released him to allow him to practice proper hygiene, though he promised to be quick. He kept his promise, returning in a matter of minutes wearing civilian clothes and with slightly damp hair.

As they laid on the bed together, Alpha shifted to look at Tali better. "I'm sorry," he murmured.

"What for?" Tali asked, suddenly worried.

"For hurting you," he said, "back at the facility, with the shockwave. I'm sorry for not taking better care to avoid hurting you. And I'm sorry for fighting with you, too."

"Oh, Alpha," Tali sighed, "It's alright. You did what you had to do. I was mad, but that's just because my injuries were fresh and hurting a lot. Besides," she gestured down to his knee, "It's not like you didn't take a few hits for me either. And you even attacked after that to save me. I know it was hard, and not just because of your knee. If I didn't forgive you after that, then what kind of love would that be?" She touched the gash on his face gingerly, "And couples fight all the time. Communication is the best remedy, I suppose; something we can both work on. Either way, we should just try to use the future to correct our mistakes, and ensure that we do not repeat them."

Alpha sighed, and Tali felt him relax greatly, only realizing now that he had been tense. "I love you, Tali," Alpha stated softly, closing his eyes to sleep. Tali did the same, pulling herself onto him and snuggling up to his chest, resting her head on his collarbone.

"I love you too, Alpha," she whispered as she fell asleep. If this was anyone else, Tali might have been even slightly afraid that they would be taken away from her. But this was Alpha, and it was like he always said:

It was a lot harder to get rid of him than that. That night, Tali had the best sleep she had had in a long time. Alpha, on the other hand, had the best sleep of his life; he had finally found a safe place in the galaxy, here in Tali's embrace.

...

_{/Transmission received from: Phantom Twelve}_

_{/Playing transmission}_

_{The Shadows are closing in on us, yet I am moving unseen at midnight. The Candle Bearers I was sent to assist escaped from the darkness, my lantern lighting the way to safety. This is a strong lantern; the range and brightness are like nothing I have ever seen. The winds carry word of The Knight striking against the night, using the darkness against itself. I assume that you know more of this, and I hope to reunite with The Knight sooner, rather than later; I fear that his light is flickering in these winds that carry such messages. His squire will only be able to help him for so long.}_

_{/Transmission end}_

_{/Record transmission}_

_{My dear friend, I may bear the world on shoulders with all of the troubling news of late, but as a bearer of the flame, you have exceeded expectations. You are to meet with The Knight near a great bonfire, and extinguish his flame; it is tainted. He has learned to use the darkness as a weapon, controlling it as you might your lantern. He is not to know of our true intentions under any circumstances.}_

_{/Transmission sent}_

_{/Logout user: Atlas}_

* * *

**A/N: Well, there it is, the confession! Naturally, this isn't the end; this is only the beginning. What of the Shadow Broker, the shadowy figure, and the man in Alpha's old powered armor? What of Tali's past "experience" with Alpha, and his lost memory? Amala may be defeated, but what of the helpful Omega? And what about this new, mysterious Phantom Twelve, and what business does he have with Atlas? There is much to come, so stay tuned!**


	7. First Date

Waking up slowly, the first thing that Tali noticed was that she was waking up alone. She opened her eyes and looked around to see that Alpha was nowhere to be found. She then listened to hear the water running in the shower, and quickly concluded that Alpha had already woken up and was simply getting ready for the day. Tali sat up in bed to find that Omega was sitting at the foot of the bed, looking over at her expectantly. He knew that she had questions for him, and they both knew that now was the time to ask.

"About last night," Tali asked with a yawn, "Just what_ did_ you do that let me see into his thoughts like that?"

Omega thought about how to answer for a moment, then explained slowly, "You know how Alpha has a bunch of neural implants? Well, there are a few in there that are meant to allow for easier analysis of his brain functions, primarily for maintenance and psychological checkups. Well, with the addition of the would-be mind control implant, which you brilliantly disabled, I might add, those neural augments were... repurposed in a way. I came from his brain, you know, so accessing it was a breeze once I noticed this new development. I acted as a sort of medium to let you into his head. Really, it was more a way of letting you see what I was seeing, and it was actually pretty hard to translate the data into images that your brain could understand, but I think it was worth it."

"You didn't think to tell me about this beforehand?" Tali demanded.

He shrugged, "I didn't know about it beforehand. I know that it was all so sudden, but I saw little other way to let you see what he was going through."

Tali raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that Omega could see it, "I could have just... talked to him, Omega."

"Yes," he admitted, "But I think we both know that he wouldn't have opened up. I also think that neither of you would have confessed if you had just 'talked it out.' Honestly, it would have taken too long for me to bear if you hadn't just done it last night like you did."

"You're probably right," Tali sighed, "But I have one last question: how did he fall in love with me again so quickly?"

Omega smiled, "He already _had_ fallen in love with you before his incident. Besides, emotional memory is handled by completely different parts of the brain; he probably loved you from the moment he woke up again." The shower turned off, and Tali could hear Alpha walking around outside. Omega heard this too, and turned to her with a wink, "Talk to you later." He then disappeared, falling silent as to not make Tali speak to an empty room.

Alpha walked through the door wearing casual clothes and a knee brace. His clothing consisted of black cargo pants and boots, a dark grey hooded sweatshirt, and black fingerless sharpshooter's gloves that could easily pass for riding gloves. He smiled when his eyes landed on Tali, "How do I look? I thought I'd try my hand at going incognito."

"I think," Tali said lovingly, "I would recognize you in a heartbeat by your face and unmistakeable personality. But I think everyone who doesn't know you would only recognize you by a suit of armor."

Alpha smiled as he limped over to the bed to sit down next to her. "Well," he said with a content sigh, "we're heading to the Citadel to pick up some supplies for our next outing. What say we make some plans for when we're there?"

"Plans?" Tali asked, "Are we going to be on shore leave?"

Alpha shrugged, "You could call it that. We VMC types are pretty lax about this kind of thing. We'll only be there for maybe a day or two, but during that time the crew is allowed to do as they please so long as their ready to get going again at a moment's notice."

Tali nodded, thinking about what they could do during this time. She realized that, being a quarian, there had never been to many places that would allow her inside, especially places that could be considered fun. Most places turned her away due to prejudice against her race, and those that didn't were usually either shelters or places that eyed her body in ways that made her feel uncomfortable. She voiced this problem to Alpha, who chuckled somewhat sympathetically.

"Can you blame 'em?" he teased playfully, "All those casinos and games; if they let in the smartest quarian in the galaxy, then they would have to throw you out anyway because you keep winning! As for the other places, well..." he glanced at her waist, mainly her rear, and raised his eyebrows in a not-so-subtle hint.

Tali punched him in the shoulder, threatening, "The next one goes on your knee!" In reality, she was blushing madly beneath her mask from the somewhat out-of-character compliment from Alpha. He normally didn't look at her body, at least not that she noticed, and she knew for a fact that he loved her for her personality, but the fact that he had taken note of some of her more... prominent physical features made her feel hot.

Alpha laughed, cowering in mock fear at her threat, "Not my knee! That could add another day to the healing process!"

"Then be glad I save my shotgun for other people," Tali responded, pulling him back to her and laughing along with him.

"I guess that planning our trip is up to me, then?" he asked rhetorically, "Well, I have a few ideas. There are some great places to go eat that serve sterile dextro food, though if all else fails we can just eat on the ship, and I think I know of some pretty great games that we would enjoy."

"What about places to just relax?" Tali asked, looking forward to spending some quiet time with her boyfriend.

Alpha grinned, "Oh, I can do that. I happen to have a mental map of every park and pavilion on that entire station. Of course, we aren't going to see every single one, but finding some peace and quiet should be easy enough."

It was an hour later that they docked with the massive space station, and Tali could tell that the crew was eager to have some free time. After the constant work of the past week and the events of the WhiteMask facility, everyone was ready for a short break. As they walked down the ramp with the other crewmembers, a thought struck Tali. She turned to Alpha, "We've only been gone for a week; did we really run out of supplies this quickly?"

"Where we're going, we'll need it," Alpha explained. He then leaned in, muttering quietly, "Really, it's more because I want to let the crew relax after what happened on Earth, and because I'm not able to do much field work with my leg right now," he looked away sheepishly, "And... I really wanted to go on a date with you."

Tali giggled at his sudden lack of confidence; Alpha was a sight to behold in battle, but when it came to social situations he was rather inept. She grabbed his hand and interlaced her fingers with his, causing him to look back at her with a soft smile. "I appreciate this, Alpha," Tali reassured him, "I'm glad you put this together."

"God, I don't know what I would do without you, Tali," Alpha said as he donned a pair of sunglasses that hid his eyes. Now he really did look like a normal human.

Their first stop was to get breakfast at a small restaurant not far from the docks. It was a nice little establishment, and the two of them were given menus as they took their seats by the window. The restaurant had a nice view of the area, which Alpha took advantage of as he pointed out several locations of interest to Tali. When their server came to the table, Tali hesitated to order. Alpha ended up ordering on her behalf, placing his own order in the process.

"Alpha," Tali said quietly from across the table, "did you even bother to look at the prices here!?"

He nodded, "Don't worry about the money; I'm paying. I get paid well for doing my job, so this is practically pocket change."

Their food was ready in minutes, and Alpha had to eat quickly to keep up with Tali and her tube of nutrient paste. It was the usual stuff that tasted unpleasant, and she had learned to eat them quickly to endure the flavor for a shorter period of time. Tali would rather have eaten on the _Midnight_, with their flavored varieties. As he finished his food, Alpha seemed to realize this. "Oh, shit," he muttered before apologizing, "I forgot that we can't find the good stuff just anywhere. Sorry, Tali."

"It's fine," she said dismissively, "I'm just glad that they serve anything at all, really; most places don't even have this."

Alpha left a tip, then they headed out. He resolved aloud that they would eat aboard the _Midnight_ for lunch, and Tali did not object. Their next destination was a small arcade that had a surprisingly expansive choice of games. Alpha suggested that they try a strategy game where they would play against each other, and Tali accepted the challenge somewhat hesitantly. She suspected that his augmented brain would excel at strategy, but she figured that it couldn't hurt to try.

The game was easy to learn; gather resources to build units of various strengths and abilities, then defeat the opposition by destroying their forces. Tali decided to play gathering as many resources as possible before building a small army, all while staying as withdrawn as possible to avoid detection. Alpha countered by sending out scout units to probe her defenses and gather information. The game was set up so that neither player could see what the other was seeing, so his strategy was somewhat unknown to her.

Eventually, Tali felt brave enough to launch an assault on Alpha's base. She selected all of her forces before sending them on an attack vector, the holographic ships streaking across the map toward their target. About two-thirds of the way there, Tali began to feel uneasy; Alpha's scouts had detected her approach, yet he did nothing to react. On a hunch, she ordered a detachment of her fighters to break away and return to base. It was moments later that her main force met Alpha's counterattack, the units tangling into a dogfight.

Once again, something felt off about the situation. This was meant to be for leisure, Tali thought, but instead it was just making her tense. How could Alpha find this relaxing? On her display, she could tell that her forces were going to win the battle, even without the units that she had sent away. Where were his other forces? Her question was answered by a synthetic alarm telling her that her base was under attack. Alpha had sent a group of units on a clandestine assault while her forces were away.

Seconds later, her returning detachment met the assault force, forcing them to fight. She heard Alpha give a low whistle from his side of the station, and smiled inwardly as she realized that she had outmaneuvered him. Her main force had been slowed down, but now it was almost through, and Alpha's attack team was being severely delayed. Suddenly, another group of equal size appeared on the other side of her base, and Tali's eyes widened as she realized that her units would be quickly overwhelmed. For such a simple game that could only support simple tactics, Alpha had managed to outsmart her.

Her force managed to attack his base, but his units were able to take hers far more quickly. The remainder of her assault force turned to face their certain doom, and Tali sighed as she watched her Destroyers get pulverized by Alpha's bombers. The winning condition was to destroy your opponent completely, and the bases were used to build more units. Now neither of them could reinforce their fleets, but she had chosen ships that were best for taking down high-priority targets, while Alpha was using bombers built to take down larger ships such as her Destroyers. Her fighter wing had eliminated the majority of his attack force, the bombers being weak in a dogfight, but enough remained to be able to wipe out her remaining force.

The message appeared on the screen, "PLAYER: CENTAURI WINS," and Tali sighed frustratedly as Alpha walked over to her with a small grin. He used the name "Centauri" after the star Alpha Centauri. The pun was rather clever, she found, but it did little to soften her defeat.

"That was a good game," Alpha said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "I didn't expect you to send those fighters back to your base; I thought that would be the end for my strategy."

"It's not exactly fair when I'm up against a man with computers in his head," Tali snapped, "You're built for this kind of thing."

He raised his hands defensively, his smile disappearing, "Sorry. It's just a game, Tali."

She gestured toward the machine, "An unrealistic game. Even a single good Destroyer should have been able to take down those fighters easily, like the _Midnight_."

"Yeah," Alpha agreed with a sigh, looking at the display, "I saw that, too. You had three of those things, but they just didn't work for some reason. Probably something to do with game balance, but real ships aren't balanced to have deliberate weaknesses," he shrugged, "For what it's worth, I think you should have won that. Your tactics were pretty sound, given the limited controls, and you caught me off-guard to top it off."

Tali sighed, knowing that she was lucky to have a boyfriend who was so logical and not egotistical. "Thanks, Alpha," she said, hugging him, "But if we play something else, can it at least be something _cooperative_?"

Alpha smiled, "I think I have an idea."

He led Tali to another game, this one with two guns, one on either side. Tali eyed the device suspiciously, watching as Alpha picked up one of the rifles and pointed it at the screen, using it navigate the menus. She picked up the other, turning it over in her hands as she examined it. "What is this?" she asked, unsure of what to think.

"This," Alpha explained, "Is a stone-cold classic for arcades. It's called a light-gun game, I think. Humanity introduced it to the gaming world, and they're somewhat rare nowadays due to simulators coming into the scene. Fun fact: the guns used to be corded to the cabinet. Now they're wireless, which is great."

Tali shouldered the mock rifle, testing the weight. She preferred a shotgun. "How do you know that they used to be corded?"

Alpha chuckled, "I fixed one back in my days in the scrapyard. Real old thing- parts were Hell to find- but it was quite the experience to play. Had guys coming in from shore leave all the time to use it, until eventually we moved it to an actual arcade so that I wouldn't be bothered so much. This is better, though."

He started the game, and Tali found that it actually was somewhat relaxing to shoot the enemies on-screen without the fear of being shot in return. The gun-controller even had simulated recoil, and the game even allowed for the use of a shotgun, which she used for the entire time they played. In the back of her mind, though, she was put somewhat on edge by memories of the WhiteMask facility, as well as many of their other past battles. She was able to detach herself from these flashbacks, though, by the fact that this was missing the worst parts of combat, including getting shot.

Alpha alternated between the assault rifle and sniper rifle weapons, while Tali mainly stuck to her shotgun to send blasts of damaging projectiles forward. The display employed holograms to give a feeling of depth, and it truly felt like enemies were close or far away when they were at such distances in the game. However, one difference from reality was that her shotgun did not lose effectiveness at long range, which actually made the experience a bit more enjoyable; it was less realistic, which helped her subconscious realize that it was just a game, and it made the shotgun comically powerful. People began to gather and watch as they advanced through the levels. Tali started to hear murmurs from the crowd as she skillfully picked off her targets.

"How did she even know how to hold that thing?"

"He's got some serious talent..."

"She's firing from the hip..."

"I wonder if he's an actual soldier?"

"She has no idea how to use a shotgun, obviously..."

Tali had half a mind to respond to the insults, but then thought better of it; they had clearly never seen live combat, and instead thought that this game was anything like the real thing.

More people started to gather around as the two of them eliminated digital enemies as soon as they appeared, Alpha's lightning-fast reflexes and Tali's skill with snap-shots allowing them to advance through the levels without so much as being shot at once, barring the bosses, which Tali found to be rather easy. She was not the most experienced fighter, that title belonging to Alpha, but she had trained hard for the past six months, and while her training had paid off in the real world, it also paid off in this game as she used cover to save her character's health and took shots at the bosses whenever there was a gap in the fire. Slowly, the murmurs changed their tune.

"Check out the quarian..."

"She knows what she's doing..."

"He's doing more, but it's hard to top that..."

They reached the final level, and a small crowd had amassed to watch as the duo worked with near-perfect synergy. Alpha took down the targets that were far away with his rifles, while Tali eliminated anyone who was closer with her shotgun. When they reached the final boss, people were starting to quietly cheer them on. Alpha's character dove sideways as the boss shot a rocket at him, the attack missing completely as Tali's character ducked behind cover and she fired off three quick shots aimed for center mass.

Their characters were on either side of the boss, and Alpha's character sprinted forward as the boss turned to face Tali. Alpha chuckled with surprise as his character climbed up onto the boss's shoulders, stabbing into his neck with a knife causing the boss to roar and thrash about, trying to throw him off. Tali got a prompt to start shooting as her own character slid between the boss's legs, and she emptied several rounds into the target on-screen before it went away and roles were reversed, with Tali climbing on his back and Alpha sliding beneath to drill at him with an assault rifle.

The battle went on as a normal fight for some time before the boss activated a biotic barrier that stopped their shots from doing damage. The two of them looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. Both of them were combat engineers, and both of them preferred kinetic barriers to the biotic variety. Alpha smirked, and Tali nodded slightly in return since he couldn't see her own grin.

Alpha pelted the barrier with his rifle, barriers being weak to automatic fire, and Tali pounded the boss with her shotgun when the barriers went down. While one fired, the other stayed in cover to let their weapon cool down; this game was old enough that it used heat sinks instead of thermal clips, something that they both appreciated. This kept the boss under constant fire, meaning that the third and final stage came quickly.

The final stage required teamwork of a different variety. Due to some in-game explanation that neither of them bothered paying attention to since it made little sense, they had to synchronize their shots on the boss. Tali's character needed to hit precision shots on a weak point near the boss's head, while Alpha's had to hit a much larger target near its spine. A few people in the crowd commented that this was a perfect, though coincidental, reversal of their roles thus far.

This gave Tali an idea. Turning to Alpha, she held up her weapon, saying simply, "Switch?"

"Switch," Alpha confirmed, and the two of them traded sides, Tali tossing her controller into the air and ducking over to the other side while Alpha dodged back around her and handed his off, catching hers as it came back down in a display of nigh-supernatural synergy. Tali switched to a shotgun while Alpha changed to a sniper rifle, and together they timed their shots in sync. Normally, this would be easy, but the game gave no prompt to help with synchronization. Instead, the two of them simply knew what the other would do, and matched the timing.

As the victory screen played, people cheered for such a performance. A few people even directly apologized to Tali for doubting her. One person asked Alpha how they had learned to work together like that, and he simply responded, "We're the real deal, kid; partners in crime on the battlefield."

As they walked past the counter, the manager told them to come back anytime, and Tali thanked her as they left. As they walked out into the street, Alpha turned to her with a proud expression, "I never would have thought to switch places. I might bring the quick shooting, but I think you're the one bringing the quick thinking."

Tali blushed slightly, "Well, I think you don't give yourself enough credit; you're good at that, too."

Alpha laughed, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him, "Sure, but that was twice that your quick thinking topped mine; the first game was bullshit, I tell you-" his eyes widened as he stopped short.

"What?" Tali asked, worried at his sudden change.

"I just realized..." Alpha said, "Dammit, I just realized that we've been doing what_ I_ want to do all day, and I didn't even _think_ to ask you what_ you_ want to do! Sorry, Tali!"

Tali gripped his hand comfortingly, "Alpha, it's fine. Really, it is. The first game might not have been fun, but I enjoyed myself with the second!"

Alpha shook his head, "Sure, but even still; I'm _positive_ that there's something else that you would rather be doing. Name it."

Tali sighed; Alpha really was out of his comfort zone when it came to social interaction, even with her. He was acting like she might be angry at him for trying his best, though she couldn't help but feel her heart ache slightly seeing him so desperate and out of his element, his confidence gone at the mere thought that he might be acting selfishly. Alpha was overreacting to his own lack of experience, and it broke her heart to see him panic as his instincts failed him, useless in a social setting.

"How about we do something that doesn't have to do with battle," Tali suggested gently, "I would like to just go spend some time with you and relax for a bit."

Alpha calmed down a bit, "How about the Presidium? They have some of the best places for that. Atlas's new status there means that we can come and go as we please."

Tali agreed, and they took a skycar to the Presidium. On the ride there, the driver turned out to be a Vagabond who recognized Alpha after a minute. The two of them conversed for the duration of the drive, and Alpha left him a substantial tip as they left. The driver flew off, and Tali mused that the VEINS had people everywhere, hiding in plain sight. As they approached the Presidium proper, a human man stopped them.

"Hold it," he said, eyeing Tali, "We have no need for beggars and thieves."

Alpha stepped forward, doing his best to hide his limp, "I don't see how this is relevant. I am an envoy of The Founder, and this is my partner." He showed his identification, but the man simply scoffed.

He looked at Tali with disgust, "Anyone can get a picture off the extranet. My job is to keep out undesirables, and a suit-rat like yourself qualifies more than anything."

Tali stood in shock while Alpha took another step forward, "Call her that again, I dare you. Then we'll see how you insult anyone without teeth."

The man ignored him, "Threats? Really? If you were a diplomat, then firstly you wouldn't be resorting to violence. Second, you wouldn't be traveling with a walking purple trash can. I mean, really, what is she to you? Your girlfriend?"

"Yes." Alpha snarled, an animalistic growling emanating from his throat as his anger rose. This was a different rage than his battle fury; this was proper anger, which was even more dangerous.

Once again, the man scoffed, "Then you're giving humanity a bad name. Honestly, what self-respecting person cares about a race that just re-enacted the _Terminator_ movies? All their good for now is petty crime and being a nuisance. They can't even breathe normal air without dying! That's a useless species if I ever saw one!" Tali broke into tears, running off as she began sobbing. The man turned to Alpha, smirking, "What, tough guy; aren't you going to go after your glass girlfriend?"

Alpha cracked his knuckles, removing his sunglasses to reveal his cybernetic eyes. The man's own eyes widened as he realized his mistake far too late. "Yeah," Alpha growled, "I'll follow her just as soon as I make good on my promise." He grabbed the man and threw him to the ground before prying open his mouth to reveal his bright white teeth, soon to be a deep crimson.

The sound of crunching bone and screams of pain echoed through the Presidium until Alpha was done. A minute after the sounds stopped, security cameras would see a man wiping blood from his face with one blood-soaked fist, his walk distinguished by a nasty limp. Soon after, C-sec would receive orders from the Council to let the man go; he had performed many deeds that greatly benefitted the galaxy, and was now simply following orders to protect the quarian people. The issue was soon forgotten by the public, but not by the man that had been hospitalized; he would not forget his lesson anytime soon.

...

Aboard the_ Midnight_, Alpha cautiously entered the cabin after cleaning himself off and changing into new clothes. He could hear Tali crying from outside, and felt guilty for getting her into such a situation, but also felt obligated to rectify it. He opened the door to see Tali on the couch with her knees to her chest, trembling as she sobbed. Without a word, Alpha moved over to the couch and gently scooped her up in his arms, watching for even the slightest sign of resistance. Seeing none, he sat down with her on top of him and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Tali," he said softly, "I'm so sorry that I made you go through that."

Tali continued to sob uncontrollably, and Alpha continued to whisper words of comfort as he stroked her back, remembering that it had helped comfort her in the past. For Tali she felt safe to cry all she wanted. In fact, she felt safe in general, curled up in against Alpha's chest with his arms around her protectively. Tali felt like she could hide from the galaxy here, and she was thankful that Alpha loved her as much as she did him. With Alpha, she was free to scream, cry, and otherwise break down when life became too much to bear.

Part of her knew that Alpha may never need such a service from her in return, but she also knew that this was only because he was quite literally superhuman; he had a different perspective on life and was much harder to break than anyone else. He had needed her help before in fighting his own self-doubt, but such things were rare for him and were only going to get rarer with time now that they were together. Part of her was almost jealous, but she knew that it came at a price for him. Without her, Alpha lived as little more than a machine, following orders and fighting wars until he died, cold and alone. Tali would need him from time to time, just like she did now, but she was always helping him.

Alpha was constantly reminded that he was worthy of life whenever he saw her. Tali was not just the love of his life; she was his anchor to it. She gave him a purpose beyond his orders with a connection that transcends time and space. Every day, she granted him not only strength, but the desire to see the next. Before, Alpha had fought simply because he knew no other way, because it was the right thing to do, and because nobody else was capable of the same feats. He had fought empty battles, lived an empty life, but now he had a dream, a final goal in his life now that his life had purpose.

Tali wanted what all quarians wanted: to live without a suit. Specifically, she wished to one day return to Rannoch and finally have a planet to call home. Personally, she just wanted to live peacefully with Alpha, wherever or however they might have to do it. Alpha, on the other hand, fought endless wars in order to create an end. He was an unmatched combatant, but at the end of the day, he just wanted to lead a life without war or combat. He wanted to live peacefully with Tali, and was determined to do so without fear of war.

It broke his heart to see the quarian people constantly on the run, living as nomads without a home and constantly in fear of the geth. He wanted to help them take back Rannoch from their creations, and he wanted to ensure that it would not be threatened. Tali wanted to find a home, but Alpha simply wanted to go home. He didn't care where, so long as they could call it their own and know that it would remain that way. Alpha, at the end of the day, wanted to ensure that there would never again be a war that he would need to be a part of.

He needed her, and she needed him. They both wanted to live in peace, to stop running and fighting, and dreading what might come next. He was sick of fighting, and she was tired of running. She could hide away with her people, but that would mean leaving him behind; he had to stay and fight war after war until there was no war left to fight. She would never leave his side, though, since she could not stand to be without him, and he would surely die fighting his wars alone. Today, she needed his love and he needed her shotgun. Tomorrow, whenever it might come, they would need nothing but each other. The promise of such a tommorow was enough for them to fight for.

...

_{/Transmission received from: Phantom Twelve}_

_{/Playing transmission}_

_{My dear friend, I wish that I could bring better news. The Shadows have prevented my convergence with the Knight, obscuring him from my sight, and my light is not bright enough to see him as he moves away once again. I fear that, wherever the Knight comes, the Shadows follow. His squire may help him, but even with her help, he may fall to the Shadows. The full moon grows bright, my friend, and soon the stars will join her in the sky. The Knight brings the sky ablaze with light; the moon and stars becoming a wonder for all to see and touch, but we must remember that it may be gazed upon by those who would be best left on the soil.}_

_{/Transmission end}_

_{/Record transmission}_

_{My dear friend, your news brings sadness to my heart, but I rejoice that you, too, have discovered the Knight's joining with the stars. The Knight speaks little, but I have an ear for his silent tongue; I gave it to him, years ago, as a gift. There was a time when I would light his path, but under the light of the full moon, he goes where he pleases. I can no longer intervene directly, I fear, as my light would only serve to darken the Shadows that follow him. Your light is needed elsewhere for now, warding off the Shadows that threaten to follow in his tracks. I will see to it that you are accompanied by the other Phantoms to aid you.}_

_{/Transmission sent}_

_{/Logout user: Atlas}_

* * *

**A/N: A bit more heartfelt, this one. Sometimes, you just can't take what life throws at you anymore and you break, and Tali experienced just that. And sometimes, the best way to help a loved one who has broken is just to be there, and to let them know that they can rely on you to stand by them while they pull themselves back together. Whether they be family, friend, or more than friends, the important thing is to protect the ones we love. Violence is almost never the answer, unlike Alpha's example, and the only reason that it works for him is because he's a superhuman cyber-soldier who doesn't play by the rules that we do.**

**I wrote in that he knocked out that guy's teeth because that's what Alpha would do. I specifically wrote this throwaway character for the purpose of making you want to punch him in the face, then letting Alpha do just that. But Alpha has Atlas to ensure that he is left alone afterward, and he happened to harm someone who had it a long time coming, so says everyone. But most of all, he's a fictional character who doesn't have to live with real-world consequences, because I make the rules for his world. What he did afterwards to help Tali was the right course of action, just letting her know that he was there for her and that she was safe to be vulnerable for a while and let her emotions come out as much as she wanted. She knows that she can trust him not to take advantage of her or judge her for her apparent weakness.**

**Our ability to stand against life is like a suit of armor; strong, sturdy, and it keeps out the worst of the pain. But it also contains a squishy, easily harmed thing called a human. A human that bleeds, a human that feels, and a human that eventually tires of facing life. That armor also prevents the wounds we suffer from healing. Since it can only block so much and eventually falls apart, holes are made by each blow, and those holes allow us to get hurt. Unless we take off that armor for a while and let our wounds heal, then we hurt ourselves more than life ever can. Without that armor, we might feel weak and defenseless, but that's only because we're so used to wearing it and continue to compare ourselves to people with theirs still intact. Some people never shed their armor, and only suffer more because of it.**

**Here, Tali sheds her armor because she knows that, while it might make her appear weak by comparison, Alpha sees that she is strong. Strength isn't always the ability to stand alone; sometimes it's the ability to show weakness to someone else. Strength is trusting someone to know your weakness, but also knowing someone's weakness and guarding it, ensuring that it can never be exploited. Strength is not how far you can go, how hard you can hit, or even how hard you can _get_ hit. Strength is the ability to do it all again, enduring the darkest nights to see the brightest days. Alpha knows this, and sees only that Tali is strong.**

**Through these moments of weakness, we grow as people. We learn to make sure that the same thing never hurts us twice, and we improve upon ourselves in the process. We learn to help others through their times of weakness, and are able to empathize with them from our own experience. The reason that I'm so passionate about this is because I ****have been both the protector and the protected, and I would never have made it this far if not for the people in my life making it worth living.**

**Now more than ever, people need each other, and we need to be strong for each other. I write stories about what I yearn to feel, giving you something to read in the process. Doing this, I create worlds of which to escape, if even for a moment, and help myself by filling the void. I want you to do the same. If you are nervous or unsure, write stories of bravery and heroism. If you are sad, write stories about joy and happiness. If you are lonely, write stories about companionship, or write about romance like I do. Write because you have a good idea, write because it's fun, because you have a void to fill, or time to kill. Whatever your reason for writing may be, the world needs creators right now, and you never know if you like it until you try.**

**A story can be many things. It can be a fun time-killer, a nice way to relax, or maybe a friend to keep you company when you need it most. Sometimes, a good story is all that someone needs to pick themselves up after they've fallen. For me, the stories I write are a way to let myself experience things that I otherwise could never hope to; from thrilling adventure, to intense fights, to love. They are what I use to heal in times of weakness, and for that, they are important to me. Through my writing, so many amazing people reach out to me just to tell me that they enjoy my work. There is no other feeling in the world like seeing that someone enjoys my work. It encourages me to keep going.**

**Well, that's enough from me. Sorry about the sudden flood of heavy emotions; this is just a very important subject to me and I've been wanting to say all of this for some time now. As always, leave a review or PM me to tell me what you think, and look forward to the next chapter of Alpha Logs: Knight to Remember. Most of all, remember to have fun and stay safe.**

**-VV**


	8. Starry Knight

_{Excerpt from archive: The Shadow War}_

_The war was lost; The Shadow Broker had won. Our Founder had thought that a war fought with weapons would be unfamiliar to the galaxy's most notorious criminal, but he was wrong. Every strategy we used ended in failure, every plan was thwarted, every tactic was countered. The enemy knew our every movement long before we ever made it. He set traps, struck at our vulnerabilities expertly, and annihilated entire platoons without so much as blinking. We developed weapons the likes of which the galaxy had never seen, assembled armies and fleets to overwhelm our opponent. Nothing worked- The Shadow Broker knew every tactic that we had, and predicted our movements precisely. We of the VEINS Military Coalition knew that we were doomed. For ten years, we valiantly fought a losing battle against an enemy that adapted to our every move. All hope was lost, and the VEINS would fall to this tyrant of a felon._

_Then he came._

_In our time of need, a hero emerged from a place most unexpected. The Founder had, for a year, harbored a child, a mere boy of sixteen, who was unlike any other. He was cunning and clever, and unmistakably inhuman at his core. Nobody suspected that he might become our savior- our light in the black- in our darkest hour. He spent his time in a scrapyard, building gadgets and contraptions almost whimsically every day, and never bothering a soul. He had come from a splinter-faction of the VEINS that had sought to directly oppose us; he was a human that was not born, but built. Yet he did more than follow us into Hell; he led the charge through the gates._

_Once he entered the battlefield, we saw that our fight was not in vain. He fought with the strength of ten men, and the fury of a dozen stars. He brought the rage of the heavens down upon our foes, leading many to preach that he was the vessel by which the wrath of Heaven itself would be wrought upon the evil and unjust. Those of us who were not of faith were tempted to agree; this man, this boy, was unlike anything we had ever seen. He was more lethal than any weapon that we had conceived, more effective than even our best soldiers. He was an unstoppable force, hellbent on completing his mission: win The Shadow War at any cost._

_He mastered every weapon and tool put in his hands, surmounting any challenge, and besting any enemy. No mission could not be completed, no battle could not be won, no objective was out of reach for this superhuman warrior. Whether with hot lead or cold steel, he cared not, he would kill his enemies without remorse or pause. Our hero fought tirelessly, drawing from a seemingly endless reservoir of strength with which to battle the Shadow Broker's forces. He was a weapon that had been created to destroy us, but now waged war for our salvation. The darkness that faced us, now found itself challenged by its own might. He was the shadow that brought light to the land. He was the Knight._

_The Knight was impervious to the Shadow Broker's ability to know our tactics, for he had none. He did not contend with our ways of war, did not care for strategies nor plans, did not accept failure in the face of defeat. Leaving bloody death in his wake, the Knight moved without grace or tact, something that our enemy had never faced. He had nothing for the Shadows to predict or exploit; how can one thwart a plan when no plan exists? The Knight fought ruthlessly and brutally slaughtered his enemies, never deterred by the gunfire that struck at him constantly. He was a true killing machine- a man of war._

_Off of the battlefield, the Knight spared no thought for the leisurely activities that his comrades enjoyed. While his brothers-in-arms would drink and dream of home, he would prepare for the next mission. He had no need to reminisce of home, for his home was in the trenches that were filled with mud and blood. He was that which our foe could not defeat, and he knew it. His crude tactics and primitive strategy were easy to learn, simple to predict, but impossible for our enemy to counter without an impossible force of their own. The Knight was the bane of the tactful leader, and therefore our enemy. However, this also made him potentially dangerous to the VEINS and VMC. We were infinitely glad that he bore the emblem of our people as he fought, and not that of one of our many foes._

_When flanked, he would take on the new threat while his men and women under his command carried on fighting their foe as before. If caught in an ambush, he would order his units to stand their ground as he charged forth in a one-man counterattack. If an infiltration was needed, he could cause a distraction or silently accompany his Tactical Reconnisaince team as needed. In such cases, that small squad would be able to tackle and firefight, should they be found. The Shadow Broker would anticipate stealth, but not a slaughter. Unlike a tank or ship, the Knight could not be disabled or sabotaged, nor was he such a large target. He was a larger man, this much was true, but he possessed greater maneuverability than almost any other soldier in our ranks. He was the ultimate weapon against the Shadow Broker._

_He was promoted quickly, becoming The Founder's right hand and answering solely to him. Ten years of war, of agony and bloodshed, hundreds of thousands of names added to the Honest Hearts Memorial, and in the course of a few months, one man, no older than sixteen, was able to turn the tide so absolutely. Countless lives were ended by his hand, and many more were saved as a consequence. But the Knight did not wage this war because it was righteous, not for honor or glory, not to save lives or bring an end to the Broker's reign. He fought for the simple purpose of completing his mission. Because his only drive was to kill his foes- "the deserving" as he called them- until his heart stopped beating and his last dying breath escaped from his lungs. The Knight did not want to win the war; he merely wanted his enemy to die._

_And die they did. For ten years, we had struggled fruitlessly to gain a foothold in the war, and had lost so many people in the process. In one-fifth of that time, the Knight was not only able to turn the tables on The Shadow Broker, but bring him to his knees and finally end The Shadow War. He never lost a fight, never retreated or surrendered, never failed a mission, never left anyone standing who stood against him. The Knight was the opposite of what we stood for; we strived for peace and justice, using war and conflict as a last resort. But he cared not for such things. He took to bloodshed as the first and final solution to any opposition, and killed without mercy or remorse, showing no hesitation in butchering his enemies no matter how fearsome or pathetic. With his determined fury to spearhead our efforts, we cut down our previously unbeatable enemy swiftly and with few losses, and the war was brought to a decisive end._

...

Standing at the helm of the _VSV-Midnight_, Alpha gazed out through the viewport and at the infinite stars beyond. It had been exactly fifteen minutes since their departure from the Citadel, and he was ready to carry out his plan of action. After months of serving under his father again as an elite field agent, Alpha was ready to start making a life for himself where he knew his expansive skillset would be extremely useful: the quarian Flotilla. With over half of the collective crew between his three ships made up of quarians rescued from poverty on the Citadel and Illium, he would certainly make an excellent first impression on Tali's people. As of right now, they were preparing to make the necessary FTL jump through the mass relay.

Alpha was the only non-quarian member of the crew who was allowed to observe as the quarian crewmembers entered coordinates and set up the ship's computers to forget them after the jump. The location of the Flotilla, while always changing, was a closely-guarded secret amongst the quarian people. Not even Alpha's subordinates were allowed to know, and they were about to go there. Security measures were put in place to ensure that Alpha would be the only non-quarian aboard who could possibly discern where the fleet was located once they arrived. The only reason that he was allowed to know was that he was Captain, and he was already something of a minor hero to the quarians with his deeds in the past.

His role in the war against Saren meant that he had killed hundreds of hostile geth platforms, and it was no secret that he would gladly kill more. After his death, his gift that he had sent with Tali had been received incredibly well. So well, in fact, that Tali had been allowed to take on her alias of Night Witch and become a technical Vindicator on the Citadel. She had attested that it was in Alpha's honor, and that she wished to honor him for helping her people by helping his in turn. Now the cybernetic superhuman was back, and he was ready to give them yet another gift: himself.

"Well, when you put it that way," he murmured to himself with a quiet chuckle, "It stops sounding at all humble." Alpha did not see himself as a godsend to the quarians, but rather as a potentially valuable asset and ally. He knew that his skills would be put to the test on the Flotilla, especially his engineering prowess, and if his quarian crewmembers were to be believed, there was always work to be done and another set of deft hands was never misplaced. It would be nice to have some time away from the mud and blood, to trade his weapons for tools and appreciate being part of a community. At least for a while, until there was some conflict or another that required his attention.

"Sir!" A quarian man called to him from the floor of the bridge, "Coordinates are entered, and the computers are finally cooperating with us. We're all set, and we can get going as soon as you say the word!"

Alpha nodded, "Good to hear it. Contact the kids and tell them the news. They're linked to us so that they'll automatically match our course, so they don't have to do anything but prepare to jump. Their computers won't even know where they're going- they're slaved to ours." He had always found that term odd- slave- it sounded... bad. In the context of computers, though, all it meant was a subordinate connection. In this specific scenario, the _Midnight_'s systems had control over the _Sun Gunner_ and _Nighthawk_ as if they were part of the ship itself, meaning that they had no need to work with their navigational systems for FTL jumps; the _Midnight_ acted, and they mirrored it. Alpha had adopted the nickname "the kids" to mean the two subordinate ships collectively.

Tali appeared beside him, wringing her hands nervously. It had been some time since he had seen her do that, though it had also been some time since she had been so nervous around him. The three ships entered the relay, and they were off- no going back now. "Are you sure that this is where you want to go, Alpha?" Tali asked him, "I mean, I'm not complaining, but you don't have to do this for me, if that's your reason." It had been four days since their pseudo-date on the Citadel, and they had spent those days aboard the ship, managing the crew and taking inventory of their supplies in order to prepare for this trip. They had filled their storages to bursting so that they would also have a material offering when they arrived.

"A bit of a moot point now, Tali," Alpha grinned lopsidedly, "But I'm only partially doing this for you. I'm also doing it for the majority of our crew, and for myself. Not only is this something that I've wanted to do since I came back, but this is also an opportunity to forge an official alliance between my people and yours. Atlas has been practically _begging_ me to do that since you and I got together."

"He knows about... us?" Tali whispered, looking around to ensure that no one was listening. Their relationship was not exactly a secret, but they were also taking care not to make a big show of it. They were two high-profile individuals, and the media would have a fit if they weren't careful. Their date had already served to kick the nest, which was part of the reason that they had remained aboard the ship afterward until departure. Plus, neither of them wanted the crew to think that they were flaunting anything. People were allowed to know, but that didn't mean that they had to.

Alpha shrugged, "Of course he does. I'm not sure if there's anything that I can do that he wouldn't know about."

She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "I know that your father means well, but I don't think that he needs to pry into our private lives. You know how I feel about him watching our every move."

"Oh, he's always watching, Tali," he stretched, "You know that. It's his job; he's like The Shadow Broker, but good. And if he doesn't do his job, things fall apart pretty fast. Plus, he only watches _my_ every move, and it's because of his constant observation that we can live in any semblance of safety."

Tali eyed his knee as he flexed it carefully. It had been in a cast until today, and they were still unsure if it was entirely healed. "Well," she said indignantly, "I still don't appreciate the fact that he's using our relationship as political leverage. I liked him better when he was marked as a terrorist."

Alpha laughed, "Tali, he's been trying to talk to the quarians for _years!_ I admit that he's been more politically oriented since he was welcomed back into the scene by the Council as a faction leader, but I assure you that my dad is still a man of action first and foremost. Until now, Atlas has never been able to send an envoy to the Flotilla due to the fact that, despite his information network, he's never been able to find it. Your people do a good job of hiding your fleet- to the point where the most knowledgeable man in the galaxy doesn't know where it is. He's not using us as leverage, Tali, unless you think of it as leverage to pry the damn door open!"

She thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I can accept that. Just be prepared: you probably won't have the warmest reception as it is."

"Captain!" A shout came from the floor, "We're coming out of FTL; brace for mass deceleration!" A few seconds later, the ship lurched slightly as they dropped out of the jump. Before them was the Flotilla, and Alpha could hardly believe his eyes. Not because he was finally seeing what so few non-quarians could ever hope to witness, but because the fleet was under attack!

Alpha tapped his temple, initiating a voice-link to the _Midnight_'s speaker system, "All hands: man your battle stations! Repeat: all hands to battle stations! We just dropped into an active battlezone! This is not a drill!"

They watched as the displays in front of them lit up, showing just how quickly the crew was responding to their orders. Tali grabbed his shoulder, "Alpha, what's going on!? Who's attacking the Flotilla!?"

The display blipped an indication that they were being hailed. "I think we're about to find out," Alpha muttered as he activated the transceiver. The voice that came through sounded more than slightly distressed, but otherwise crisp and official.

"Unknown vessel," a man's voice said, "This is Admiral Rael'Zorah. Identify yourself or withdraw before we are forced to consider you a threat and you are fired upon."

Tali lunged forward, but Alpha held out a hand to stop her. This person was her father, and it was clear that she wanted to respond as his daughter, but right now he needed to take control of the situation as the Captain of his ship. "Admiral, this Captain Alpha Black of the _VSV-Midnight_," he responded in his own military tone, "We can discuss why I'm here in a bit- right now, you're under attack from another party, and we're packing enough firepower to knock a dreadnought out of the sky, sir. Permission to assist?"

There was a pause, during which they continued to advance in order to bring the enemy ships within range, then the Admiral responded: "Permission granted, Captain Black. I will ensure that my people know that you are not hostile."

He ended the transmission, and Tali turned to look at him furiously, "That was my father, Alpha! He doesn't know that I'm aboard with you!"

Alpha's hands clenched the guard rail in front of them as he established a neural connection to the ship. He could see everything that he needed to know without anyone using precious time to tell him. "I know. Trust me on this one, Tali; there'll be time for reunions later. Right now, this is naval warfare." He pressed a button on the control panel, "Release the Night Watch! Kal: get in there and draw their fire! Rick: cloak, flank, and hit 'em with everything you've got!"

The _Sun Gunner_ accelerated forward, its frontal-assault-focused cannon batteries coming ablaze with gunfire. The _Midnight_'s own turrets opened up with a steady bombardment of mass-effect-propelled projectiles once they maneuvered into range, accompanying her subordinate's barrage and that of the fleet. The _Nighthawk_ slipped out of sight as it turned invisible, moving to ambush the enemy force. Now that Alpha was able to get a better look at the attacking ships, he could see that they were of a design that he recognized all too well: The Shadow Broker's personal army. But why were they attacking the Flotilla? He dismissed the question for now, focusing instead on the task at hand.

At the core of the attack was a much larger ship that Alpha had no doubt was the command vessel for the hostile force. A wicked grin crept onto his face; he had heavy firepower designed to take down ships like that, and he was just dying to test them. The main cannons excelled at eliminating the smaller ones, with each one individually manned by a gunner that could choose targets independently of the others. The _Sun Gunner_ reached the opposing ships, utilizing its twin plasma throwers to melt anyone who flew too close. The plasma throwers worked like massive flamethrowers that could function in the vacuum of space, and they were far hotter. They turned the enemy fighters into slag in moments, and melted through the armor of larger vessels after quickly draining any shields that they might possess.

The _Nighthawk_ appeared behind their aggressors, unleashing a torrent of deadly target-tracking missiles that surged forward all at once to hit over a dozen targets before the stealth ship disappeared again. This was what it specialized in: blitzkrieg tactics that counterbalanced the sustained frontal firepower from the other two ships under Alpha's command. The missiles streaked through space to hit their targets with extreme force, eliminating some ships and crippling the ones that weren't destroyed outright. At the same time, several of the enemy craft swung about in confusion, desperately trying to locate their new attacker. The Night Watch took full advantage of this chaos, shooting down hostile fighters while they were distracted and as the larger ships stopped firing at them for a moment.

The Shadow Broker's force began to recede, fully realizing the capability of their quarry's new allies. Now it was time for a real show of force. Alpha had taken care to eliminate as many of the smaller ships as possible before targeting the command vessel, since destroying it outright would cause them to retreat prematurely. The _Midnight_'s main cannons, combined with the guns of the Flotilla, had managed to disable the ship's shields, meaning that its armor was vulnerable. Leaning forward with a predatory smile on his face, Alpha issued the order: "Fire the plasma lance!" A second later, the unmistakable glowing bolt of superheated material came shooting from the bow of the ship, soaring forward across the battlefield to strike the retreating command vessel with terrifying results: the shot struck it on the starboard side, and the armor there was practically vaporized on impact. The telltale signs of depressurization appeared there, accompanied by a few bodies that were jettisoned into the vacuum of space, exploding into a mess of blood and gore shortly thereafter as their bodily fluids boiled and burst them like bloody balloons.

The _Nighthawk_ appeared once again to fire another salvo of missiles at the ship, this time focusing every shot on the vulnerable spot that the plasma lance had made. The sudden force of the twenty cutting-edge explosives ripped the vessel apart from the inside as they flew through the massive hole in its armor before detonating. The other craft made the jump to FTL just as the large ship was turned into scrap metal, and its inhabitants into red paste. Alpha leaned back triumphantly; his plan had played out perfectly.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Rael'Zorah's voice came through, "We lost three ships in that fight. It would have been two, had you ended it right away with that... weapon of yours- I've never seen anything like that before."

"I could have, Admiral," Alpha responded evenly, "And I sincerely apologize for your losses. But I wasn't just looking to end that fight; I wanted to make a statement- send a message."

"That message being?"

He grinned, "There's an old human phrase: 'Don't tread on me.' I'd say that it fits this situation pretty nicely. While I wish that there had been no friendly losses at all, I think that these bastards will think twice before attacking again. That kind of thing can save many more lives than were lost today."

Tali stepped forward, getting a nod of approval from Alpha before speaking, "Admiral Rael'Zorah, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I am aboard the _VSV-Midnight_ with Captain Black. We have many people here who are looking to return home, and many others looking to make one with us. The Captain and I seek to bring these ships into the Flotilla and integrate their crew into our society. Do we have permission to follow you to the location of the civilian ships?"

The Admiral paused for a short time, and Alpha guessed that it was due to hesitation. It was understandable; this was quite the request, and there was a lot to process here. "Permission... granted," he answered finally, reluctance clear in his voice, "You are to come aboard for questioning once we arrive, Captain, and bring my daughter with you."

"Of course, Admiral," Alpha said respectfully, "We're here to help."

...

_{/Transmission received from: Phantom Twelve}_

_{/Playing transmission}_

_{My dear friend, I have but one piece of news to bring to your attention. The Knight now belongs to the stars. The Shadows attempted to reach them before he could, but his power was too great, and their efforts were thwarted. I fear the worst; the Shadows should never have known how to touch the stars. They may know more than we once thought. Now that the Knight has intervened directly, he will be a target. The Phantoms await your instructions, as the flame has dictated.}_

_{/End transmission}_

_{/Record transmission}_

_{My dear friend, your tale brings me great worry. The Phantoms shall guard the Knight in this dark time, and see to it that he does not fall to the Shadows. I shall shed my light brightly, and together we will keep him from this conflict. As of now, the Knight has barely come from dusk, and it is your duty to ensure that he endures the darkness to bring the light of dawn. We must tread carefully, my friend, for the walls have eyes and the floor has ears. If the flame as dictated that I am to guide you, then I shall make it so. Good luck.}_

_{/Transmission sent}_

_{/Logout user: Victor}_

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**/N: I haven't abandoned Alpha Logs! I know it's been a while, but I assure you that I _am_ still working on this. I just have other projects is all. And with work coming up, things are probably going to slow down even more soon...**

**But I have a policy of finishing what I start, and this is no exception! While I'm not entirely sure anymore as to whether or not this will end up as the five-part series that I originally planned, I will at least finish out Knight to Remember. That much you can count on. Leave a review to tell me what you think, or PM me if you have any questions!**

**As always, have fun and stay safe out there! -VV**


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